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Google is adding a selfie video option as a new way for users to log in to their accounts, the company announced<\/a> on Thursday, joining a growing wave of tech companies betting that biometrics and not password are the future of identity verification online. The tech giant says selfie videos give users more options to sign in if they\u2019re ever locked out or don\u2019t have access to their usual phone or computer.<\/p>\n Users set up a selfie video by looking at their device\u2019s camera and completing a few guided head movements \u2014 think turning right or left or nodding \u2014 to capture multiple angles of their face. If a user is having trouble signing in later, they can take another selfie video to get back into their account, and Google will then compare the new video to the one used at set up to confirm it\u2019s the correct person.<\/p>\n The bigger challenge Google is trying to solve is proving a real human, not a bot or a doctored video, is on the other side of the camera. \u201cWhen you use a selfie to sign in, we use multiple layers of security to help prevent impersonation attempts like fake photos and videos (i.e., deep fakes),\u201d Google wrote in a blog post. \u201cFor example, we match your video against your saved selfie and require you to perform simple movements to prove it\u2019s a live video. We also use our standard security practices to detect and help prevent suspicious sign-in attempts.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t just about individual accounts, though. As AI-generated video gets more convincing, \u201cliveness\u201d checks are becoming a baseline requirement for any company handling logins, payments, or sensitive data. <\/p>\n Although the new option could help protect accounts against fraud and help users recover locked accounts, it also raises concerns around user privacy and biometric data collection, an area regulators have increasingly scrutinized as more companies build products around facial and voice data.<\/p>\n Google says selfie videos are stored securely using encryption and remain protected even when they\u2019re not being used, and that users can choose to delete the videos from their Google account at any time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n