How Biometrics on Smartphones are Good for Us

Companies like Apple and Samsung have been coming out with a host of cutting-edge biometric security features such as the iris scanner, face-scanning technology, and of course, the traditional fingerprint scanner. Biometric security is becoming increasingly important as passwords aren’t as secure as they once were, as hackers find newer and more innovative ways of breaching smartphones. 

Instead of relying on an alphanumeric combination — a password — which can be obtained through spyware such as keyloggers, biometrics are a set of characteristics or physical features that are unique to every person making them identifiable. Biometrics makes it incredibly difficult for hackers to fake the ‘identity’ part, making your phone much safer. 

Over the past few years, biometric identification methods such as the fingerprint reader have become so popular, that smartphone companies such as Oppo have begun to integrate it in almost all their devices. If you’re looking for a smartphone under 20000 INR  with a fingerprint scanner, be sure to take a look at the Realme 6 Pro, Samsung Galaxy M31, or the Oppo K3. 

These fingerprint readers, that have been in use in smartphones for quite some time now, are evolving in incredible ways to incorporate newer technologies such as the iris scanner and facial recognition software. 

There exist many benefits of having biometric authentication on your smartphone. Firstly, biometric inputs are invisible to the human eye. Anybody having a direct line of sight to your smartphone screen may be in a position to identify your password or pin code or lock pattern but will find it impossible to decode your biometric inputs from just a glance. 

Even if one does identify which finger you use as a biometric fingerprint input, it will be impossible for the person to replicate your prints as they are unique to you. Biometrics is essentially another layer of security. 

Furthermore, Biometric authentication is quick. It exponentially increases the speed with which you can unlock your phone. You can now access your phone, authorize transactions online and open applications with the touch of the fingerprint reader, or even quicker by enabling your smartphone to read your iris, instead of physically inputting passwords or patterns. Hackers can find their way around password and pattern encryption, which makes biometric authentication all the more important. 

With the advent of financial technology, our smartphones have essentially become portals to our bank accounts. You must have already seen two-factor authentication while buying something online, when you’re asked to enter an OTP or a one-time-password to validate your identity, via ensuring your access to the registered mobile number with the bank account. 

However, this method too can come under jeopardy if your debit card details and your mobile are compromised. If your phone is equipped with biometric authentication, you can add another layer of security by bolstering the encryption to access your mobile phone to keep your bank account safe. This becomes very important, as, without access to your mobile phone, the hackers can’t access your bank account. 

It can get increasingly frustrating for some users to even remember passwords with the increasingly complex and convoluted password requirements, that multiple websites and applications are coming up with — password must be at least 12 characters long, contain a capital letter, a number, a special character, cannot contain your name, place of birth, birthdate, etc. 

In short, passwords are an antiquated identification route.  In such scenarios, biometric identification is increasingly replacing passwords and pin codes owing to their increased safety and security features. 

So the next time you plan on buying a smartphone, make sure to check whether the phone is fitted with a biometric security or identification system, such as a fingerprint reader. We recommend taking a look at the Oppo A9, Oppo A5, or the Oppo A31, all are Oppo mobiles under 15000 INR, and all come equipped with biometric security and identification systems to ensure maximum security.