Verification (1:1)
Definition
Matching a fresh sample against ONE stored template tied to a claimed identity. Used to unlock a phone or authenticate a payment.
- Match type
- One-to-one, against a single claimed-identity template
- Contrast
- Identification (1:N), which searches an entire database
- Typical use
- Phone unlock or payment authentication
- Speed
- Fast, since only one stored template is compared
Common questions
How does 1:1 verification differ from 1:N identification?+
Verification checks a fresh sample against the one template tied to the identity being claimed, while identification searches the whole enrolled database for a match, which is far more computationally demanding and prone to false hits at scale.
What decides whether a verification attempt passes?+
A similarity score between the fresh sample and the stored template is compared against a preset threshold, tuned to balance the false-accept and false-reject rates for the application.
Related terms
- Behavioural Biometric
- Trait rooted in learned action: voice, gait, signature dynamics, keystroke dynamics, mouse movement.
- Biometric
- Any measurable physiological or behavioural trait used to identify or verify an individual. Falls in the 'something you are' authentication category, distinct...
- Enrolment
- First-time capture of a biometric, feature extraction, and storage of the resulting template in the system database.
- FAR / FRR / EER
- False Acceptance Rate (imposter wrongly accepted), False Rejection Rate (genuine user wrongly rejected), and Equal Error Rate (operating point where FAR =...
- Identification (1:N)
- Searching a fresh sample against EVERY template in the database to find a match. Used by AFIS to hit a chance print...
- Physiological Biometric
- Trait rooted in body structure: fingerprint, iris, retina, face, palm print, palm vein, hand geometry, ear shape, DNA.
- Presentation Attack Detection (PAD)
- Liveness checks that block spoofing with fake fingers, photos, iris printouts or cloned voice. Evaluated under ISO/IEC 30107.