Biometrics: Innovation and Regulation in Everyday Life

Published Date : 9/20/2025 

Biometrics technology is rapidly becoming a part of our daily lives, from air travel to digital identity verification. Explore how this cutting-edge technology is evolving and facing regulatory challenges. 

Biometrics technology means different things to different people. It is a method of forensic investigation and a way to streamline processes, such as speeding up lines at airports. This technology is tried, true, and tested, yet it continues to evolve with cutting-edge innovations.

Among this week’s top stories, biometrics has become a new standard in air travel. The U.S. government has approved the expansion and permanence of the CBP’s biometric exit program for travelers departing by air, land, and sea, except for U.S. citizens who opt out. This means that face biometrics checks for all travelers leaving the country will be standard operating procedure.

Airports in Perth, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand, have announced the deployment of passenger processing technology. Perth is using face biometrics for check-ins and bag drops with kiosks from Amadeus, while Auckland is upgrading its check-in kiosks and bag drop units to prepare for the shift to biometrics and digital travel credentials.

Amadeus has also successfully completed a test of the EUDI Wallet for flight check-in, bag drop, pre-security, and boarding processes. This pilot was carried out in collaboration with Lufthansa and will be followed by further testing for airport security, immigration, and border control use cases.

A new hybrid biometric modality using gait and 3D body structure developed by Cursor Insight has been approved as forensic evidence for a murder case in an EU country. The company’s Ákos Molnár explains in an interview how the technology works and its potential as an investigative tool.

NIST has relaunched its FpVTE evaluation of one-to-many fingerprint biometric identification algorithms. Results for the initial entries to the Friction Ridge Image and Features (FRIF) E1N from Tech5 and Innovatrics show how far the technology has evolved in 13 years.

Presentation attack detection is not as well established for iris biometrics as facial recognition, but Dermalog’s performance in LivDet-Iris 2025 at IJCB showed strong differentiation between spoofs and bona fide samples, detecting advanced fakes with contact lenses. Real-world payment scenarios and biometric morphing attacks remain challenging.

Australia’s privacy authority has ruled that Kmart violated the law with its use of facial recognition to prevent refund fraud. The OAIC clarified that the ruling does not effectively ban the technology but keeps a high standard for exceptions to rules around consent. Privacy rules around identity data are growing in importance for Australians as the country moves ahead with digitalization. Victor Dominello says that digital ID and a national data-sharing platform could boost productivity by $21.3 billion Australian, and Microsoft estimates the country could save nearly $9 billion with digital government from the cloud.

OpenAI is moving to implement age inference as a safety measure for ChatGPT following reports that it may have encouraged a teen to commit suicide. It may also require age verification with an ID document in some countries, and it may face more lawsuits. Age assurance is also the application that pushed Yoti to the top of the App Store charts in the wake of OSA enforcement in the UK. CEO Robin Tombs joins the Biometric Update Podcast to talk about the relationship between regulations and trust and the results of Australia’s recent trial.

The week’s headlines were also encouraging for those trying to find biometrics and digital identity technologies. Seon’s $80 million series C funding leads the way, with plans for hiring, AI product development, and global expansion of its AML and fraud prevention services. Trident has raised $2.6 million for the DRC Pass project through Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) financing, and Contactable announced $13.5 million in new funding to bring its KYC and digital identity onboarding to enterprises across Africa. Investors put $8 million into Fabrix Security and $5.5 million into Scalekit as they build tools to secure enterprise networks traveled by AI agents.

Tech5 and Visa have cemented their relationship with a seven-year deal to collaborate on biometric digital identity wallets with payment functionalities to build into DPI systems. The companies have been working together for several years, most prominently in Ethiopia, and plan to bring inclusive DPI to more governments.

A U.S. senator has addressed a letter to the Georgian owner and CEO of Dubai-registered PimEyes to demand information on what he knows about activists using his web-based facial recognition platform to identify masked immigration enforcement officials photographed during raids. The conflict combines the menace of 1984 with the ambition of Don Quixote and the absurdism of Waiting for Godot. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the CBP’s biometric exit program?

A: The CBP’s biometric exit program is a system that uses face biometrics to check travelers as they leave the country by air, land, and sea. This program has been expanded and made permanent, with U.S. citizens having the option to opt out.

Q: How are airports in Perth and Auckland using biometrics?

A: Perth Airport is using face biometrics for check-ins and bag drops with kiosks from Amadeus. Auckland Airport is upgrading its check-in kiosks and bag drop units to prepare for the shift to biometrics and digital travel credentials.

Q: What is the EUDI Wallet and how is it being tested?

A: The EUDI Wallet is a digital wallet for flight check-in, bag drop, pre-security, and boarding processes. It has been successfully tested by Amadeus in collaboration with Lufthansa, with further testing planned for airport security, immigration, and border control use cases.

Q: What is the new hybrid biometric modality using gait and 3D body structure?

A: A new hybrid biometric modality using gait and 3D body structure, developed by Cursor Insight, has been approved as forensic evidence for a murder case in an EU country. It works by analyzing a person's walking pattern and body structure to identify them.

Q: What are the privacy concerns around biometrics in Australia?

A: Australia’s privacy authority ruled that Kmart violated the law with its use of facial recognition to prevent refund fraud. The ruling does not ban the technology but sets a high standard for exceptions to rules around consent. Privacy rules around identity data are becoming increasingly important as the country moves towards digitalization. 

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