A new app has marked yet another breakthrough in biometrics by using your face to log on to a website – instead of a password.

True Key takes a photo of your face with the computer’s camera and stores it for later use.

When you want to use a password-protected website such as your email, the app scans your face and matches it with its records – removing the need for a password.

The technology works on any device which has a camera meaning that it can replace passwords on computers, tablets and smart phones.

True Key was unveiled at the technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and was reported by USA Today.

Availability

The app will be available through the True Key website from next month and could change how we use our computers.

It works on a ‘freemium’ model and is free for the first 15 websites. After that it costs £12 ($19.95) per year.

True Key has been developed by computer chip maker Intel and Mark Hocking, a vice president with Intel Security, who said: ‘Our goal is the elimination of passwords altogether’.

Mr Hocking added that the service might not achieve that goal overnight but it ‘will make it easier, over time. It will be a long time before they [passwords] are gone.’

He said: ‘I think that the password system is broken.

‘We’d like to invent a new system for being able to identify if it’s truly you that’s trying to get in and then grant you access accordingly as opposed to a password which can be shared or stolen

‘Nothing is truly hack free but the practices most of us use for managing our identity are generally very unsafe – using the same password over and over again, using simple passwords.

‘This is a tool that will help consumers be more safe’.

Research

Studies have shown that the average person has just 10 passwords that they recycle for all the websites they use, including online banking.

However most of us use obvious things like the name of a pet, our mother’s maiden name and our
address.

Apple advanced phone biometrics with the iPhone 5 which allowed users to unlock the device with a fingerprint instead of their password.

Researchers have also for years been experimenting with ways of doing away with house keys including retina scans.

They have also developed scanners that let you use your fingerprint to gain access to your home.

AxisKey, developed by a Florida-based security company, went further, and used sonar to scan your fingerprints, the contours beneath them and the shape of your blood vessels in your hands.

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