Biometric Explained: Uses, Types & How It Works

Biometric verification infographic showing physical traits like fingerprints and behavioral traits like voice patterns, explaining the process from sample capture to access approval.

Biometric refers to a security and identification method that uses a person’s unique physical or behavioral characteristics to confirm who they are. Biometrics help systems answer a simple question: Is this really you?

Common biometric identifiers

Physical biometrics

  • Fingerprint patterns
  • Face shape and facial features (facial recognition)
  • Iris and retina patterns
  • Hand geometry or palm prints

Behavioral biometrics

  • Voice patterns (voice recognition)
  • Typing rhythm (keystroke dynamics)
  • Gait (how someone walks)
  • Touch or swipe behavior on mobile devices

How biometric authentication works

A biometric system typically:

  1. Captures a biometric sample (like a face scan or fingerprint)
  2. Converts it into a digital template
  3. Compares it to a stored template
  4. Approves or rejects access based on how closely it matches

This process is often used for biometric authentication, which can replace or support passwords, PINs, and security keys.

Where biometrics are used

Biometrics are widely used in everyday security and identity verification, including:

  • Unlocking smartphones and laptops
  • Access control for apps, workplaces, and secure systems
  • Banking and payment verification
  • Border control and airport security
  • Time and attendance systems

In social platforms and image tools, biometrics often refers to facial recognition. This can be used to:

  • Detect and group faces in photos
  • Suggest photo tags
  • Help identify people in images or videos
  • Support reverse image search workflows that try to find matching or similar faces online
facial recognition, biometric authentication, identity verification, fingerprint recognition, iris scan, voice recognition, reverse image search

FAQ

What does “Biometric” mean in the context of face recognition search engines?

“Biometric” refers to measurable biological characteristics used to recognize or compare people. In face recognition search engines, it typically means facial biometric data derived from a face image—features that can be used to compare one face to other faces.

A biometric template is a mathematical representation of a face (often called an embedding or face vector) produced by a face recognition model. The search engine compares the template from your query image to templates of indexed images and returns the closest matches by similarity, rather than searching by a person’s name.

Is uploading a photo to a face search engine the same as submitting biometric data?

It can be. If the service extracts a face template from the photo for matching, that derived template is generally treated as biometric data in many privacy frameworks. Whether the photo and/or template is stored, and for how long, depends on the provider’s policy and your applicable laws.

Biometric face search can link photos of the same person across different websites even when the images are not identical, which increases re-identification and profiling risks. If biometric templates or uploaded images are retained or breached, they may enable unwanted tracking; unlike passwords, biometric traits are difficult to change.

How should I handle biometric concerns when using a tool like FaceCheck.ID?

Treat any face photo you upload as potentially biometric data. Review FaceCheck.ID’s current privacy/retention and opt-out or removal options, avoid uploading sensitive images unless necessary, minimize metadata exposure (e.g., crop to the face if appropriate), and use results as leads rather than proof to reduce the risk of misidentification.

Christian Hidayat is a dedicated contributor to FaceCheck's blog, and is passionate about promoting FaceCheck's mission of creating a safer internet for everyone.

Biometric
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Biometrics is the use of unique physical or behavioral traits, such as fingerprints or voice patterns, to verify or recognize a person's identity, commonly used in digital security systems and social media identification.