Spoofing attacks — where someone holds up a photo or plays a video to trick your face verification — are a real problem for mobile apps.
In this post I'll show you how to add passive face liveness detection to a Flutter app in under 5 minutes using FaceNova SDK.
What is passive liveness detection?
Unlike active liveness (where the user has to blink, smile or turn their head), passive liveness works silently from a single frame. The user just looks at the camera — no instructions needed.
FaceNova's on-device AI model detects:
- ✅ Printed photo attacks
- ✅ Video replay attacks (phone/tablet/laptop screen)
- ✅ 3D mask attacks
All processing runs on-device. No face images sent to any server. GDPR compliant by design.
Step 1 — Add the dependency
dependencies:
flutter_face_nova:
git:
url: https://github.com/facenova/flutter_face_nova.git
permission_handler: ^11.4.0
Step 2 — Initialize on startup
void main() async {
WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
await FlutterFaceNova.initialize(licenseKey: 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY');
await Permission.camera.request();
runApp(MyApp());
}
Step 3 — Launch liveness check
final LivenessResult? result = await FlutterFaceNova.startLiveness(context);
if (result == null) return; // user cancelled
if (result.isReal) {
print('Real face: ${(result.score * 100).toStringAsFixed(1)}%');
} else {
print('Spoof detected!');
}
That's it. Three steps.
Bonus — Face matching in the same camera session
final FaceMatchResult? match = await FlutterFaceNova.startLivenessAndMatch(
context,
enrolledFaces: myEnrolledFaces,
matchThreshold: 75.0,
);
if (match != null && match.isMatch) {
print('Identity verified: ${match.matchedFace?.name}');
}
Why FaceNova?
✅ Works offline — Fully functional without an active internet connection.
✅ No cloud / server — Complete data privacy with zero external dependencies.
✅ GDPR compliant — Built with privacy-by-design standards.
✅ Passive execution — Seamless checks with zero mandatory user actions.
✅ Face matching included — Built-in identity verification alongside liveness scanning.
✅ Cross-platform — Native performance tailored for Flutter, Android, and iOS.
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