Smartphones have evolved at an amazing pace. It’s strange to think that the iPhone launched a mere decade ago. No one can argue that the smartphone hasn’t revolutionized the information age, but it has also challenged businesses and consumers alike to reimagine how they interact with technology and the world at large. One mobile technology that has perhaps had the biggest impact on these interactions is mobile biometrics.
From Touch ID and Beyond
Touch ID may not have been the first mobile biometric, but it was the one that skyrocketed the technology into the public spotlight. Though it was originally only for unlocking the device, the technology quickly rose in popularity to overtake PINs as the primary way iPhone owners interacted with their lock screens. Of course, the technology evolved rapidly to include payment authentication, app security, and much more, and Samsung and other Android manufacturers were quick to launch their own versions of mobile biometric authentication.
However, even since the early days of Touch ID, hackers and security researchers have been showing how to bypass and compromise the system. Even with improvements over the years, it hasn’t taken experts long to figure out how to spoof the sensor and unlock the device. That’s why many manufacturers and identity and access management companies are exploring alternatives to mobile fingerprint sensors that are equally, if not more, convenient, but significantly more secure.
Free On-Demand Webinar: Beyond Touch ID: Mobile Fingerprinting & Advances in Biometrics
Iris and Face Are Imperfect Mobile Biometrics
The latest technologies to hit the headlines for mobile biometrics are face and iris recognition. In an effort to do away with the fingerprint sensor, both Apple and Samsung seem to be embracing these alternative biometrics, respectively. The latest iPhone rumors point to a 3D “Face ID” solution using the phone’s front-facing camera, while Samsung has already launched iris recognition. But are these better alternatives to the built-in fingerprint sensor?
Well iris may be more secure, but due to low availability, seeing as it’s only offered on a few devices, we aren’t likely to see a mass migration to it any time soon. And face recognition, regardless of how advanced of a solution Apple plans to deploy, simply doesn’t have the accuracy or convenience that other biometric modality offer.
The Advantages of 4 Fingers
To overcome these challenges and optimize the acceptability of any mobile biometric authentication solution, we need to have something that works on a variety of devices without requiring additional hardware and works cross-platform. Facial recognition does this, but as we discussed above, has its own flaws. The next logical answer is a fingerprint capture solution that works without built-in sensors and other special hardware. The answer is 4 Fingers TouchlessID.
Thanks to the high definition of most rear-cameras on modern smartphones we are actually able to capture high-quality fingerprint data with ease. This touchless biometric represents the future of mobile biometrics, opening up many new opportunities closed off to single fingerprint sensors, face, and even iris recognition at this time.
