Study Suggests Americans Want Companies to Offer Biometric Authentication

Over half of Americans think biometric technology is either “Very Secure” or “Extremely Secure”, according to a recent study by Atlanta-based authentication specialist IDology.

The study polled a little over a thousand US adults this past March, and found that 54 percent were enthusiastic about biometric security, which came out ahead knowledge-based questions (45 percent) and one-time passwords (44 percent). And security was indeed a top concern, with 88 percent of respondents calling it “Very Important” or “Extremely Important” in opening new online accounts, compared to 72 percent citing ease and 62 percent citing speed as top concerns.

Given that biometrics are often faster and easier to use for authentication than passwords, that suggests there’s a real opportunity for companies doing business online to take advantage of this technology to attract more customers. And indeed there appears to be a penalty for not doing so, with IDology’s study finding that customers hold companies responsible for protecting their personal information – 67 percent ‘Strongly agreed’ with that sentiment, while only 59 percent ‘Strongly agreed’ that protecting personal information was their own responsibility.

Embracing biometrics could also help companies to steer consumers away from their own bad practices. In what is perhaps its most remarkable finding, the study found that only 40 percent of consumers who had fallen victim to a data breach bothered to change their online account passwords. With biometric authentication, that won’t be an issue, and with consumers already looking favorably upon companies that embrace such technology, it’s an opportunity for those companies to help consumers help themselves.

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June 11, 2018 – by Alex Perala