FacePlugin
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Ionic

Face Recognition SDK for Ionic

An on-device face recognition and liveness plugin for Ionic apps on Android and iOS, published for both Capacitor and Cordova — face detection, 1:N identification, landmarks, and attributes, all processed on the device.

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Capacitor & Cordova buildsFully on-deviceMIT-licensed plugin
Woman with phone doing face scan
Identity Verified
Face Match 99.98%
Requirements

What You Need to Run It on Ionic

These are the exact minimum and recommended requirements published in the FaceRecognition-Ionic-Capacitor repository — check the repo directly for the latest version, since SDK requirements can change between releases.

Ionic / CapacitorIonic React 8 with Capacitor 6.2.x
Node.js18+
AndroidminSdk 24, physical device recommended
iOSiOS 13+ (A12+ recommended), physical device, Xcode 15+ (macOS)
Browser previewionic serve alone can't load the native engine
Quick Start

Install and Activate

Install the SDK, then activate it with a license key before calling any recognition function — every platform follows this same activate-then-initialize pattern.

  • Install the Capacitor plugin: npm install git+https://github.com/Faceplugin-ltd/FaceRecognition-Ionic-Capacitor.git, then npx cap sync.
  • Copy the native runtimes into the plugin folders: facerecognitionsdk.aar for Android, three frameworks for iOS.
  • Set your own app ID or bundle ID, request a license for it, and add camera/photo-library permissions.
typescript
import { getMachineCode, setActivation, init, lastLicenseError,
         faceDetection, templateExtraction, cropFace, SDK_SUCCESS } from 'face-recognition-capacitor';

const act = await setActivation('FP1....');
if (act !== SDK_SUCCESS) throw new Error(await lastLicenseError());
await init();

const faces = await faceDetection(imageUri);
if (faces.length === 1) {
  const template = await templateExtraction(imageUri, faces[0]);
  const crop = await cropFace(imageUri, faces[0]);
  // store template + crop in your own database
}
Note

Building with Cordova instead of Capacitor?

FacePlugin also publishes a Cordova build at FaceRecognition-Ionic-Cordova, with the same on-device engine and licensing model.

Licensing

How Licensing Works

The Ionic plugin code is MIT-licensed. The native SDK runtime still requires an offline license key bound to your app ID or bundle ID — the demo app's key only works for its own demo package, so contact FacePlugin for a key for your app.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Ionic SDK send biometric data to the cloud?

No. Every stage of face recognition runs on your own server or directly on the device, depending on the platform – biometric templates never leave an environment you control.

How is the SDK licensed?

Licenses are offline and bound to a machine code, application ID, or bundle ID depending on the platform. Contact FacePlugin with that identifier to receive a license key – there are no per-call or per-match fees once licensed.

Where can I see the full source and open an issue?

The FaceRecognition-Ionic-Capacitor integration is maintained publicly on GitHub at github.com/Faceplugin-ltd, where you can browse the code, file issues, and track releases.

Related

Pairs Well With

Flutter SDK

One plugin for Android and iOS.

React Native SDK

On-device recognition as an npm package.

Face Recognition SDK

The full product overview across every platform.

Ready to Add Face Recognition to Your Ionic App?

Talk to our team to get a license key and a 15-day evaluation period started.

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