What Is Mobile ID?

1. What is Mobile ID?

Mobile ID refers to a user’s digital identity, and the technology used to manage it, in the hyper-connected world of smartphones, tablets, wearable technology and the Internet of Things. Mobile devices have presented end users from all walks of life with unprecedented levels of convenience in everything from communications, to banking, to healthcare.

2. What characteristics of my identity does Mobile ID concern?

Mobile ID is concerned with all aspects of your digital identity, relying mostly on biometrics and secondary authentication factors for verification and authentication. Your heart rate, your fingerprint, the sound of our voice, and the minutiae of your face and other biological traits can be used to identify you in the connected world. Additionally, device factors, often referred to as “something you have”, fit into the mobile identity ecosystem as well.

Of course, with the speed at which mobile device and sensor technology is evolving, new aspects of mobile ID are being discovered all the time. Location is becoming an increasingly important factor in mobile ID based marketing, and invisible biometrics like walking gait are beginning to emerge as well.

3. How do biometrics fit in with Mobile ID?

Biometric technology is at the heart of Mobile ID. When humans are constantly connected to the Internet, a biological identification trait is the best way to ensure that a user’s digital identity is not abused or stolen.

Thanks to biometric software, which can turn cameras and microphones into biometric sensors, any smartphone or tablet can be turned into a multi-factor strong authentication device. Now that fingerprint scanners are becoming standard flagship phone features too, and iris scanners are on the verge of mobile integration too, the options of using biological authentication factors for mobile transactions are vast.

Cloud technology, licensed through a service model, has enabled this evolving biometric ecosystem. Future proof technologies are allowing governments and enterprises to invest in mobile biometric technologies without the fear of being outdated by the time new biometric technology emerges.

4. Is Mobile ID more than biometrics?

While biometrics are an essential aspect to Mobile ID, additional considerations are also important in the ongoing discussion of how we manage our digital identities in a connected world. As mentioned above, location and device factors are key aspects here, and as new infrastructure begins to develop, how we connect is becoming as important as who is connecting.

Mobile ID World, therefore, reports on new innovations in the Internet of Things, wearable technology, and global connectivity initiatives like Internet.org and Google Balloon, in addition to the latest innovations in authentication technology.

5. What are the ideal uses of Mobile ID technology?

Mobile ID technology is used in both consumer and vertical markets. It can be used to replace a user’s personal passwords, or it can protect a patient’s medical record in a hospital; it can bring greater convenience and security to financial transactions, or allow for in the field identification of wanted persons by law enforcement agents; it can open a door, or notify a doctor if you need medical attention.

Mobile ID technology, though complex and specific in nature, is extremely broad in terms of possible areas of application. If you want to see all of the many ways Mobile ID can make life easier and more secure, visit our Applications page.