Mobile facial recognition developer FacialNetwork has announced a new and very secure authentication app. Called ZoOm, the app will soon be available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
Basically, the app authenticates the user via video selfie. While taking a selfie, the user moves her smartphone towards her face, allowing the app’s biometric system to create a 3D map of the face. Users can create accounts with only an email address if they wish, and their encrypted data stays on the device.
Upon its release, the app can be used for authentication to mobile services from hundreds of companies including Expedia, Amazon, Ticketmaster, and all major US banks – Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and more. For added security, consumers will have the option of pairing a fingerprint or PIN.
It’s a highly secure system, bypassing the security flaws previously found with more rudimentary facial recognition systems, and it’s compliant with FIDO security standards. As such, it’s already getting positive attention from major players in the mobile industry such as Samsung, which has committed to integrating its security into undisclosed new products coming later in 2015.
In a statement, FacialNetwork COO Satya Yenigalla emphasized the simplicity of the system, and expounded on its possibilities. “The technology behind ZoOm has the potential to fundamentally change the way we use and share devices,” he said. “Imagine picking up a friend’s tablet, sliding it up to your face and voila: All of your contacts, accounts and documents are available instantly. Log out and they are gone.”
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