Apple patent could have you authenticated whether you consent or not

Apple has been awarded a U.S. patent for a two-step authentication process involving face and possibly finger biometrics.

In one example, a store could use face biometrics to scan a shopper. That could occur without the person’s consent, but also before any payment information is presented to the store.

The patent for ‘Biometric authentication with user input’ states that a secure circuit would perform the authentication and more or less hold steady until the shopper pressed a mechanical button.

If no button is pushed, the positive authentication is reversed. A timer could be set, too, rejecting the authentication if the subject waits too long or perhaps moves away.

Authentication could be used for payments, and Apple notes a potential embodiment in a point-of-sale terminal with NFC communication, which would allow it to interact with payment cards.

Reporting by Patently Apple makes a direct connection between this patent and Face and Touch ID – and the innovation no doubt will work with those biometric sensors, but the patent reads like two or more systems could be at play. The set up would work well for automated kiosks, for instance.

Article Topics

Apple  |  authentication  |  biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  patents  |  POS  |  research and development  |  retail biometrics