You could find yourself tilting your head and winking into your phone’s camera in order to complete a future Amazon order.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant recently filed a patent for a pay-by-selfie system. Instead of typing in your password, the selfie payment system would allow you to snap a photo (or a video) of yourself to make an Amazon purchase. The proposed pay-by-selfie system would require users to “perform certain actions, motions, or gestures, such as to smile, blink, or tilt his or her head” to authorize a purchase, according to the patent application.
The application says the pay-by-selfie system is not only more secure than the conventional password entry system, Amazon claims it can also save users from a potentially “awkward” situation.
“The entry of these passwords … can require the user to turn away from friends or co-workers when entering a password, which can be awkward or embarrassing in many situations,” the application explains.
Say what?
Although the additional security provided by selfie authentication seems reasonable, “Whether or not emoting at your phone is less intrusive to your social life than entering a password is not quite clear,” writes Brian Feldman in New York Magazine.
Amazon is not the only company that wants consumers to “say cheese” in the name of security. Check out “Selfies May Replace Passwords Within a Few Months.”
What do you think of Amazon’s proposed pay-by-selfie system? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.
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