iProov face verification on tablet

3 Usability Tips for a Slick Authentication Experience

February 1 2020

Whether it’s face ID or airport e-gates – it’s clear that face authentication has really taken off.

While we hear a lot about the ‘security and usability trade-off’, we’d like to suggest you can have the best of both worlds.

Here are some usability tips we’ve learned in the field.

Make the technology do the work, not the user

Placing demands on your user is a sure-fire way to add friction to an authentication experience. Performative actions like ‘look left’…‘blink’…‘recite number 3,2,1’…. ‘do 3 star jumps’ ….creates user frustration and ultimately an increase in abandonment.

Taking an approach that places the security demand on the technology, rather than the user, is not only better for security but skyrockets a user experience.

Deal with selfie anxiety

I want to log into my online banking discreetly on the train and avoid looking like I’m taking a shameless selfie. But do I want to look at my face at a  45-degree angle? No.

To avoid this trauma, consider distorting or softening the imagery. Many people assume distorted imagery lessens the user experience, but data collected by iProov suggests the opposite. 91% of people preferred or were neutral to iProov’s softened imagery, while only 9% would have preferred a photographic selfie.

Your user isn’t a mind reader

A user can’t authenticate? Why? Tell them what the problem is!

Are they too close to the camera? Are they moving too much?

Giving user feedback is essential to prevent frustrated users and increased user abandonment rates!

It’s also important to note that a solution shouldn’t even start unless your user is in a suitable environment.

If the authentication process is able to start in an environment that’s too dark, or too close then the solution has failed to do its job before it’s even begun.

Make sure your feedback has positioned your user for success!

Back to Resources

Get a demo