Convenience Driving US Consumers to Adopt Facial Biometrics: Report

by James · November 24, 2022

Over 131 million US citizens use facial biometric technologies daily, and nearly half of them do so to access three or more applications each day.

The findings come from Taiwan-based facial recognition company CyberLink, which published a report conducted online with third-party research firm YouGov on the use of facial biometrics in America.

According to results from the research, which surveyed 2,455 US adults aged 18 and over in September, approximately 176 million Americans use facial recognition, of which 132 million use at least one application per day.

A significant 75 per cent of 18- to 34-year-olds have adopted the technology and 57 per cent of this age group use it daily.

“There is a perception that people are not ready for facial recognition technology, but almost all of us use it every day in one way or another,” comments CyberLink CEO Jau Huang. “New applications for AI-based computer vision and facial recognition are constantly emerging.”

In terms of specific actions driven by facial biometrics, the CyberLink reports suggest that 68 percent of respondents say they use the technology to unlock their phone, laptop or other personal computer, and 51 percent to log into an app on a phone.

“The explosion of mobile apps, the password nightmare they generated, and the facial login solution that followed led to the initial mass market adoption,” adds Huang. “Now, many see AI-based automation as a key solution to the current labor crisis.”

In terms of industry, 55 percent of those surveyed actually say that they believe facial recognition technology can improve security airports. The figures are the same for banks (54 per cent) and doctors’ offices (53 per cent).

More broadly, the highest percentage of respondents willing to adopt facial recognition technology admitted that they would be open to using it while shopping in a store, eating at a restaurant or traveling if it better protected their data, personal information and assets (54 percent) .

A smaller number (42 percent) said they would consider it to improve safety at home and in the workplace, 45 percent for convenience, 23 percent to ensure proper mask use and 20 percent to eliminate human contact or get a VIP experience.

“Traditional and online businesses use facial recognition for a wide range of activities, ranging from security and access control to self-service, statistics and the many facets of customer experience,” concludes Huang. “Be ready; there is a lot of facial recognition coming forward.”