You can use your phone to figure out your heart rate and track how much you walk. But the powerful sensors inside smartphones can do more than keep you updated on your health: They can also turn your body into a password.
EyeVerify is a small Kansas City–based security company. Its core product is biometric eyescan software for smartphones. Every person has a unique pattern of blood vessels in their eyes. These blood vessels contrast with the whites of the eyes so clearly that they can always be read, even when there's a lack of light.
The best part? Those blood-vessel patterns can be photographed by phones and turned into unique data signatures which can be used to replace or supplement traditional passwords. “We turn a picture of your eye into a key that protects your digital identity,” says EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush.
EyeVerify offers their product as a plug-in for different companies; current clients on record include enterprise security firm Fixmo (which has a large sideline business that offers mobile security products to military and government clients) and corporate IT giant AirWatch.