Facial recognition is becoming more and more common and today it is used in many security systems, along with other biometric methods, such as fingerprints or voice recognition.
More secure with facial recognition – how it works
Facial recognition combined with, for example, an ID-document check, enhances security in a number of ways. The technology identifies you based on a comparison with an image or video by comparing selected facial features. There are different ways to do this, which we will explain further below.
Facial recognition in BankID
We are now creating a new facial recognition feature. With facial recognition in the BankID app, we compare a photo of you with a photo from an approved Swedish ID document issued by the police; passport or national ID card. This feature can be used, for example, to activate a new BankID if you have lost your phone. Driving licences and other ID documents do not work because they are not secure enough to be read securely from a distance. Swedish passports and national ID cards contain a chip that mobile phones with an NFC reader can read.
A technology on the move
In recent years, facial recognition has undergone rapid development and is constantly improving. The technology has already reached a high level and is considered reliable. BankID uses a well-developed and secure service that works well with other security systems to further enhance security. In the future, these features will become even better and more common.
Straightforward and optional to use
By default, your image is not saved with BankID, but is deleted as soon as verification is complete. If we need to store any of your personal data at any time, you will always be asked if you agree to this.
FaceID
Some phones have a built-in facial recognition feature called FaceID. When signing a contract or identifying yourself, you can choose to use the BankID app instead of a security code . This is a feature available on iPhone that creates a 3D image of your face by projecting thousands of infrared dots onto your face. Later, this 3D image is compared with your face to see if they match. BankID supports FaceID to identify customers and signatures, but this requires your bank to have enabled the feature. Another biometric method, TouchID, uses fingerprints and is available for both iPhone and Android.
Secure and more accessible
Using facial recognition and fingerprints is more secure than typing your code in a public environment. No one can look over your shoulder and see your code if you are using your face or fingerprint as a code instead. These features are also a good way to help people who, for whatever reason, find it difficult to enter a code on their phone.
