Future Mobile Devices to Use Biometrics

More than 600 million mobile devices worldwide will include biometric authentication within the next five years, up from 190 million in 2016, with demand for methods that involve less hardware raising the profile of solutions such as voice and facial recognition, a report from Juniper Research writes.

Multiple biometrics will become part of consumers’ mobile experience shortly, the study Mobile Biometrics: Consumer Markets, Opportunities & Forecasts 2016-2021 reports which will drastically enhance security for mobiles.

Technologies that do not require dedicated hardware, as fingerprinting does, will grow new audiences as biometric security penetrates markets with lower-tier smartphones. Fingerprinting will remain prevalent in more affluent regions, though, the report says, according to NFC World.

It also suggests use cases for biometrics will shift from identification to verification, as the need for better security of the biometric itself increases.

 Data Control

“While biometrics offer a greater amount of security and convenience, they need higher levels of protection,” says research author James Moar.

“Establishing best practices for storage and transmission of newer biometrics will be key to ensuring consumer control over the security of these most personal data.”

The boom in biometric authentication was highlighted last month by a Frost & Sullivan report which stated one in three new cars would feature some form of biometric feature by 2025 thus making theft of vehicles a historical footnote.

Meanwhile, a Mastercard survey reported in September that customers would rather use biometrics than PIN codes to secure mobile payments, with fingerprint recognition technology proving the most popular method thus far.