The Resilience of Face Mapping: Age and Surgery Effects

When it comes to proving your identity online, face ID – also known as face biometrics – is fast becoming one of the most reliable methods of authentication. But what happens when our appearance changes with age, or we undergo plastic surgery? Could changes to our face make our own face ID tools lock us out?

Fortunately, the natural process of aging doesn't have a significant effect on face identification – to a point. Research has shown that 99 percent of facial recognition images can still be recognised up to six years later. However, the face does change naturally over time, and the accuracy begins to drop when images of a person are taken more than six years apart.

When it comes to plastic surgery, there are some procedures that might confuse face ID tools. Procedures that change the volume of tissue in the face, such as cheek implants, lip fillers, or buccal fat reduction, may change your appearance enough for you to not be recognisable to your face ID on record. Tissue-lifting procedures such as eyelid surgery or a brow lift may also affect facial recognition.

Murray Collyer, COO of iiDENTIFii, an award-winning remote biometric identification platform, explains that their technology asks users to take a selfie from a specific angle, which confirms that a real, live person is trying to log into the account. They confirm the person's identity by cross-referencing it with existing official identity records, such as a person's government-issued ID. This means that, even if your face changes as you age, you will still be successfully identified if your official ID documents are reasonably up to date.

In addition to age and plastic surgery, other factors can affect face recognition, such as lighting conditions and camera quality. However, iiDENTIFii's 4D facial recognition technology uses a unique sequence of lights to ensure biometric liveness and can identify facial features even in poor lighting conditions.

It's also important to note that not all face mapping technology is equal. iiDENTIFii stands out for its NIST-accredited face match algorithms, ensuring the highest standards of accuracy and reliability. Their face authentication accuracy rate stands at 1 in 250,000 False Accept Rate (99.999% accuracy) and 1 in 10,000 False Reject Rate.

While certain physical changes may have an impact on your face mapping tools, there is nothing to worry about if the rest of your identity documents are up to date. iiDENTIFii cross-checks the facial biometric image from the selfie with the facial biometric image on the official identity document. If this document still fairly represents you, then face authentication will be seamless.

Q: How does aging affect facial recognition?

A: The natural process of aging doesn't have a significant effect on face identification, but the face does change naturally over time, and the accuracy begins to drop when images of a person are taken more than six years apart.

Q: Can plastic surgery affect face ID tools?

A: Yes, procedures that change the volume of tissue in the face, such as cheek implants, lip fillers, or buccal fat reduction, may change your appearance enough for you to not be recognisable to your face ID on record.

Q: How does iiDENTIFii ensure accurate face recognition?

A: iiDENTIFii uses 4D facial recognition technology and cross-checks the facial biometric image from the selfie with the facial biometric image on the official identity document.

Q: What impact does lighting have on face recognition?

A: iiDENTIFii's 4D facial recognition technology can identify facial features even in poor lighting conditions.

Q: How accurate is iiDENTIFii's face authentication?

A: iiDENTIFii's face authentication accuracy rate stands at 1 in 250,000 False Accept Rate (99.999% accuracy) and 1 in 10,000 False Reject Rate.