Anonybit awarded patent for decentralized biometric authentication

Anonybit has secured a patent from the the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), covering a decentralized biometric system for privacy-preserving authentication aimed at enterprise use cases.

According to a release, the “wide-ranging patent underscores Anonybit’s unique approach to biometric data security through its decentralized architecture, which eliminates centralized honeypots of sensitive data and leverages advanced technologies such as Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP).”

The cloud system as described is similar to other decentralized identity schemes, wherein biometric data is fragmented (“sharding”) and distributed across a multi-party cloud computation environment. Anonybit says this ensures no single point of compromise exists, making data breaches less likely and ensuring compliance with stringent privacy regulations.

Frances Zelazny, CEO of Anonybit, says the patent approval marks “a significant milestone for Anonybit and the biometric industry at large. It validates our mission to redefine how biometric data is protected while enabling scalable and seamless enterprise applications.”

Anonymity tech built around compliance, data privacy principles

The patented tech aims to assuage fears about the privacy risks associated with biometric data collection. Anonybit says it is designed to meet regulatory requirements based on principles such as data minimization, privacy by design, data residency, consent, the right to know and the right to be forgotten.

Those qualities give it appeal for banks, fintechs and major enterprises, which already deploy Anonybit’s biometrics for use cases including fraud prevention, passwordless login, account recovery, and secure storage of wallet and identity tokens and other data needed to support the identity management lifecycle.

The firm calls itself “the only privacy-enhancing biometric platform supporting a broad range of modalities – including face, voice, iris, and palm.” As a data infrastructure provider, it notes its commercial approach in offering unique support for third-party algorithms to deliver top-tier NIST performance. Zelazny has previously explained that Anonybit doesn’t develop its own algorithms because it “didn’t want the industry to feel like we were competing with them, but rather enabling them.”

Patent keeps Anonybit on run of wins

The patent continues the momentum Anonybit built up in 2024, when it introduced palm biometrics through a strategic partnership with Armatura, added to its advisory board and participated in the startup pitch competition at Identity Week. This month, it brought its decentralized biometric identity platform into the NayaOne Tech Marketplace, a B2B enterprise technology adoption platform.

Article Topics

Anonybit  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  decentralized biometrics  |  enterprise  |  multi-party computation  |  patents  |  research and development