Do fingerprint readers and webcam login work on Linux?

Fingerprint readers on Linux go through a project called libfprint. It supports a long list of readers covering the main sensor makers, including Synaptics, Goodix, Elan, Validity, Upek, Focaltech, Realtek and others, running to well over two hundred device identifiers. When your reader is on that list, the experience is good. You add a fingerprint in the system settings, and it unlocks the login screen and the lock screen.

The catch is the one the project states itself: those drivers might not all be available in the stable released version, and you should check with your distribution rather than assume that everything in development has reached you. So there are two ways to miss out. Your sensor may not be supported at all, which is common on recent laptops where the sensor is newer than the driver, or it may be supported in development but not yet in the version your system ships.

Face login is worse. There is no Linux equivalent of Windows Hello as a supported feature. The community project people reach for is Howdy, which uses the infrared camera in laptops that have one. Its own documentation is blunt about what it is. The authors say it is in no way as secure as a password and never will be, that it can be fooled by a similar-looking person or a good printed photograph, and they tell you directly not to use it as the only way into your system. As a convenience for unlocking, fine. As security, no.

Separately, firmware updates for laptop hardware do have a proper home on Linux. The fwupd service, backed by Dell, HP, Lenovo, NVIDIA and Framework among others, delivers vendor firmware updates through a tool built into most distributions. That is worth knowing because sensor support sometimes improves through firmware.

The honest advice is to treat fingerprint login as a bonus rather than a requirement. If you depend on it, check your exact sensor before you switch, and be ready to type a password.