What is face authentication and why it matters to your business?

Face authentication, also referred to as facial recognition or biometric authentication, is a method of user authentication that has been gaining traction in recent years. As customers demand easier and more convenient means of identity and access verification that still offers a robust layer of security and privacy, face authentication comes as the easiest way to do just that.

In this blog, we'll take you through:

• The disadvantages of using passwords and codes;
• The difference between facial authentication and face recognition;
• How face authentication works;
• Use cases for banking, retail, hospitality, digital workplace and web3.

Short on time? Face authentication is an effective method of authentication that combines both security and convenience while safeguarding privacy, benefiting both the organization and the customer experience.

There's a battle between convenience and security

Passwords are everywhere: to unlock your computer, to access your shopping cart, to read your emails, to download a movie. They have been commonly used as a method of authentication ever since Fernando J. Corbató used the concept of a password to grant each user a unique name and password. But, while it perfectly served Mr Corbató's goal — to give students access to MIT's Compatible Time-Sharing System — almost 70 years ago, password authentication is now a headache for everyone.

The several applications we use on a daily basis often require separate passwords with specific characteristics, so it's not uncommon for people to have up to 100 different passwords to remember. And how does anyone have time for that?;

Furthermore, although people recognize the importance of having different passwords for each system/login, 51% of them use the same password for both work and personal accounts. Whenever credentials are leaked in a data breach, 3 out of 10 people stop doing business with the company or website involved.

Face recognition vs. Face authentication (and why they aren't the same)

Face recognition and face authentication — it's very common to see both concepts used as if they're synonymous. But they aren't.

Face recognition is about matching a person’s face against a database of face images. It is often used to check if someone is in a watchlist or for other law enforcement, to reduce retail crime, find missing people and other video surveillance methods. Given their public security nature, most of these activities don’t require explicit consent from users.

Face authentication, on the other hand, is about matching a person's face against a prior enrolment that the user has created for some purpose and is a consented process. It is often desired by users for passwordless authentication — a way to confirm that they are the authorized user to unlock a mobile phone, some online service, or access a physical venue. The use's face is not used for law enforcement or other purposes outside user consent, but to grant them private and secure access control. Best solutions are architected in decentralized models so that the user's face template is securely stored on their mobile device, and not on a shared database.

As with any other authentication method, there are two steps: register and sign in. To register, the following steps are applied:

1. The user takes a selfie with their phone or laptop camera;
2. A liveness check is performed to ensure that the user is physically present;
3. A biometric template is created from the selfie;
4. The biometric template is stored for later authentication.

The process of signing in, after registration, goes as follows:

1. The user takes a selfie with their phone or laptop camera;
2. A liveness check is performed to ensure that the user is physically present;
3. A biometric template is created from the selfie;
4. This biometric template is compared with the registration template.
5. A match/no match decision is performed — the user can access, if positive.

Passwordless authentication is the next step for customer identity and access management

Phishing, scams and poor password hygiene pose risks to both users and businesses. These problems require a move away from passwords and towards passwordless authentication. Face authentication is widely advocated as the safer, more convenient option by companies and entities worldwide.

Recently, the EU Commission has put efforts into building a regulatory framework that puts the EU as a global leader in developing secure, trustworthy and ethical AI principles. But what does it mean for face authentication? Biometric identity verification systems rely on artificial intelligence technology. So, as the?AI Act?encourages businesses to develop AI solutions that give users the confidence to adopt them, we can see that the adoption of biometric identity verification systems where users give explicit consent and where the user owns their own biometric template will be the future of passwordless authentication.

YooniK solutions are compliant with this privacy framework. YooniK doesn't store any user pictures, and after the image is converted into a biometric template they are immediately discarded. Plus, the only entity that can access the created biometric templates is the user that generates them.

Use cases using face as a passwordless authentication method

This method of authentication can be used by any organization that needs to authenticate customers/users, in any industry. From banks to hotels, eCommerce or physical workspaces, you can use face to make the verification process more convenient for the user and more secure for your own business: as we mentioned, it is really difficult to steal someone's face. And even if an attacker gets hold of a user's picture, they will still have to pass by certified intelligent anti-spoofing technology which distinguishes between a live person and, let's say, a printed picture or a video on a tablet.

Retail

Shopping online has become the new normal. At the same time online shopping and eCommerce websites are getting more sophisticated, with additional features and possibilities, and so is cybercrime.?Ecommerce password breaches?are more common than you may think and may lead customers to distrust merchants.

But the usage of this passwordless method of authentication in retail doesn't have to be limited to online shopping. Face authentication allows you to customize the in-store experience and make it more convenient. Loyalty and reward programs can be instantly accessed — no cards, passwords or codes.

Banking

Banking processes require proof of identity and sophisticated multi-factor authentication to verify identity data to onboard new customers or accept a face payment with their favourite card, as well as using secure and frictionless authentication to prevent fraudulent transactions online from bad actors.

Secure and spoof-proof face authentication brings confidence to people interacting with financial services through various channels, creating a level playing field for banks and financial institutions to create?better banking experiences?and compete with new market players when it comes to customer convenience.

Hospitality

Hotels and accommodation facilities can leverage face authentication to leave the paperwork behind and build a fully digital check-in process with identity verification. The?check-in experience?is more personalized and convenient, as well as the entire experience during the stay (payments at the vending machines, access to the restaurant, and entry into the room).

Digital workplace

Biometric identity verification systems have the power to?remove friction from workplace authentication procedures, automate the onboarding of new employees and make core interactions and activities more secure. The combination of human face recognition and passwordless authentication allows users to easily access systems, ERP login, and online accounts for third-party corporate tools (including videoconferencing, access control cards, canteen and vending machine cards) while reducing various kinds of fraud and information leakage caused by passwords.

Web3

Self-sovereign identity is a central concept to web3. As virtual currency, digital experiences and non-fungible tokens gain visibility, the players on these markets will need to provide authentication methods that copies with the web3 philosophy: the user is the owner and has control over what data they share, being able to authenticate and prove identity without revealing the data itself, thus leveraging decentralized face authentication models where the face template is stored on the user's trusted device.

Key takeaways

• Face recognition is used in non-consent environments such as law enforcement; face authentication is a consent-based used voluntarily by users to confirm they are authorized in a specific context.
• Face enables a passwordless authentication that requires no more than the person's face and a commonly used device: a camera.
• As AI and biometric identity verification systems become more mature, regulators are looking for ways to encourage companies and users to adopt them in a privacy-preserving manner.
• Businesses can leverage face authentication either for customers and employees, improving the whole experience and ensuring that multi-factor authentication does not rely on additional physical hardware or clumsy codes.

What's in it for you

By implementing face authentication, your organization can:

• Increase customer acquisition and retention rates.
• Reduce IT support costs.
• Ensure full privacy compliance.
• Reduce the risk of fraud.

How can you offer these features to your clients?

YooniK provides most of the face authentication solutions described above and would love to bring them to your company. At YooniK we think that seeing is believing. And because we trust so much in the quality of our products, we make it possible for anyone to integrate and test our solutions in minutes.

If you're a technical leader or developer, to start integrating and testing, just?register?and?subscribe a free plan. Any specific tool you would like to integrate face authentication with? We're integrated with Auth0, Okta and are continuously expanding this list. Feel free to get help on our?discord channel?or get in touch directly with our?support team.

If you're a business leader or decision-maker and want to know more about how to offer experiences that just work,?send us a message?or feel free to?book a meeting?with our team of specialists, who will be happy to help.

You can also browse our pages to learn more about our?Hospitality,?Banking,?Retail?and?Digital Workplace?solutions.