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ARTICLE · 01 APRIL 2016

Amazon Wants To Patent "Pay by Selfie" Technology

Mayer Brown
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On 19 October 2015, Amazon filed a patent application for a process that would allow its customers to authenticate purchases with a selfie-photograph rather than a password.

GermanyIntellectual Property
Benjamin Beck
Benjamin Beck
Dr. Ulrich Worm
Dr. Ulrich Worm
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On 19 October 2015, Amazon filed a patent application for a process that would allow its customers to authenticate purchases with a selfie-photograph rather than a password. The application (Pub. No.:US 2016/0071111 A1) concerns a computer-implemented payment method using selfies in a two-step authentication: In the first step, buyers send a selfie to establish their identity. In the second step, they send another photo or video in which they blink, nod or open or close their mouth to confirm that an actual human being is attempting to be authenticated.

The invention is designed to ease the process of verifying transactions as consumers make more purchases online and via mobile devices. The process is also thought to be more secure than entering a password.

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