Active Liveness vs. Passive Liveness Key Differences and How They Work

In identity verification and biometrics, the choice between “Active Liveness” and “Passive Liveness” has become a pivotal consideration. Active and passive liveness are two types of liveness detection techniques that ensure that the person behind the camera is an actual individual. Let’s first find out how liveness detection works! 

The active vs passive decision carries significant implications for both security and user experience. In this article, we dive deep into the specific categories, weighing their strengths, weaknesses, and real-world applications.

Active vs Passive Liveness Detection: A Correlation

To see how each approach works in practical situations, the following table summarizes the main strengths, weaknesses, and implementation issues of active and passive liveness detection methods.

What is Active Liveness Detection and How Does it Work?

What is Active Liveness?

Active liveness detection, as the name suggests, requires some sort of activity from the user. If a system is unable to detect liveness, it will ask the user to perform some specific actions, such as nodding, blinking, or any other facial movement. This allows the system to detect natural movements and separate it from a system trying to mimic a human being. 

It is an advanced approach as compared to traditional verification that works on a frame-by-frame, image-based model.  Industry leaders, such as Facia, provide a blend of active and passive liveness, where active is only initiated when there is not enough evidence from frame-by-frame images. 

How Active Liveness Works?

Active liveness detection operates with precision and attentiveness, crucial for robust biometric authentication. It captures multiple images (at least two) of the user in motion, often requiring facial movements. Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities analyse and confirm the identity of a real person. 

This method provides protection against various presentation attacks, including the use of 3D masks and other biometric spoofing attempts. It plays a pivotal role in the verification process, establishing and safeguarding digital identities, and ensuring that only live individuals, not impostors, gain access through biometric checks.

What is Passive Liveness Detection and How Does it Work?

What is Passive Liveness?

Passive liveness detection operates discreetly in the background, requiring no explicit action from the user. The system’s artificial intelligence continuously analyses facial movements, depth, texture, and other biometric indicators to detect an individual’s liveness.

While passive liveness checks offer a smoother user interaction, it’s essential for businesses to be transparent about these passive checks, ensuring users are aware and any privacy concerns are addressed.

How Passive Liveness Works

Passive liveness detection revolves around intelligent observation. By analysing a single captured image, the system identifies genuine human indicators and contrasts them against known spoofing tactics, ensuring that only legitimate users gain access. These indicators include skin texture, depth, 3D face mapping, and environmental factors.

Active Checks VS Passive Liveness Checks

Active and passive checks differ mainly in user engagement and the technology they depend on. Active checks need the user to interact, while passive checks work silently. When it comes to capturing images, active checks often use multiple frames, but passive checks might only need one.

Active Liveness Checks

• Ask for user actions, making it tough for attackers to use photos or videos to trick the system
• Mix movement study and AI, often looking at several images
• Need the user to be alert, fitting for services that put privacy first
• Can add challenge-response tasks, boosting security against deep fakes
• Best for services that focus on tight data safety

Passive Liveness Checks

• Don’t ask the user to do anything specific
• Mainly use AI, often looking at just one picture
• Work without the user knowing, usually in the background
• Can be faster and easier for the user, needing no special actions
• Great for services that want to make things easy for users

Major Advantages of Active Vs Passive Liveness Detection

Challenges of Active and Passive Liveness Detection

Real-World Applications of Passive Liveness Detection

E-commerce and Retail

Passive liveness detection is instrumental in countering fraud in online shopping, preventing account takeovers, and mitigating identity theft.

Telecommunication

It plays a pivotal role in ensuring secure user verification during SIM activations and account registrations in the telecommunication sector.

User Onboarding

Passive liveness detection significantly enhances the user experience across various industries, particularly in situations where speed is essential for successful onboarding and user engagement.

Real-World Applications of Active Liveness Detection 

Financial Services

Active liveness is widely used in the financial services industry to ensure secure customer onboarding, particularly in online banking and digital transactions.

Healthcare

In the healthcare sector, active liveness plays a crucial role in upholding patient identification integrity and securing electronic health records.

Government and Law Enforcement

Government and Law Enforcement agencies rely on active liveness for verifying identities during border control processes and citizen services, increasing national security and data protection efforts on a mass level.

Final Words

In identity verification, the choice between active and passive liveness detection ultimately depends on your requirements. High-profile businesses with sensitive information such as banks and financial institutions have to rely on active liveness detection. However, companies offering retail and e-commerce solutions can also work with passive liveness detection. 

Facia, with its state-of-the-art solutions, stands at the forefront of liveness detection technology. It offers both active and passive liveness detection solutions alongside customisable options for branding and integration. Facia has the ability to provide on-cloud integration as well as on-premise integration.

However, in both cases, the priority is data protection and privacy. Businesses can deploy the solution onto their designated servers, and reserve the rights to their customers’ data. 

💡Learn More About Facia’s State of the Art Liveness Detection Technology

Choose Facia’s Liveness Detection Solution

Facia stands at the forefront of biometric technology, offering both SDKs and APIs tailored for active or passive liveness detection. As security challenges evolve, partnering with Facia ensures that organizations remain a step ahead, safeguarding their operations and users with unparalleled biometric verification solutions. 

With a focus on user experience, security, and compliance, Facia ensures a seamless and secure verification process. 

Facia Is The World’s Fastest Liveness Detection Solution Provider: 

• <1s Response Time
• Passive & Active Liveness Detection
• 0% FAR @ <1% FRR
• Compatible SDKs For iOS & Android
• Protection Against Injection Attacks
• iBeta Level 2 Complinet