The end of October has brought a flurry of news further illustrating the growing popularity of biometric authentication on smartphones and other consumer devices.
Selfie onboarding, in particular, remains incredibly popular.
Singapore-based Advanced.AI announced that it has provided a selfie-based onboarding system for Finnix, a fintech app. Finnix was developed by the Thailand-based lender Monix, and offers access to micro-finance loans. Users can verify their identities by uploading photos of their Thai national ID cards and their faces.
Hinge, meanwhile, has become the latest dating app to embrace face-based identity verification in an effort to crack down on catfishing and fraud. The platform will introduce a video selfie feature next month, allowing users to get a “Verified” badge on their profiles.
While those companies demonstrated the power of selfie biometrics for device unlocking, MSI went a step further. Its new Summit E14 Flip Evo features a facial recognition system that is used to automatically blur the screen when a user looks away, and locks the device when the authorized user isn’t present. The security feature is being pitched at professionals who work with sensitive client information.
And the recent innovation has not been restricted to facial recognition. Mitek has announced a multimodal authentication solution based on voice and facial recognition. Operating through a smartphone app, in practice it requires the user to record a selfie while saying a specified phrase. A demo SDK is available now.
And Level announced a new, physical lock system is designed to leverage the biometric security of Apple devices. Level’s Lock+ can be installed on top of a standard deadbolt, and wirelessly interfaces with the iOS Home Keys app. Users can configure it to unlock with a face scan via the iPhone’s Face ID, or via a Touch ID fingerprint scan, or even through a contactless wave of an iPhone or Apple Watch near the lock.
These innovations offer a demonstration of the biometric innovation underway in the consumer sector, and the growing importance of identity in how we use today’s mobile devices. And there will surely be much more to come.
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