# Presentation: 013076

## User Perception and Acceptance of Biometrics

***M. Angela  Sasse***
**Professor of Human-Centred Technology**
**Department of Computer Science**
**University College London, UK**
**a.sasse@cs.ucl.ac.uk**
**www.ucl.cs.ac.uk/staff/A.Sasse **

## Background

- 20+ years usability research, 10+ years usability and effectiveness of security systems
- Specific biometrics experience
- 2000/1 BIOVISION (EU Roadmap Project)
- 2004 BioPII (German Federal Office for Information Security)
- 2005- Member of the Biometrics Advisory Group to UK Home Office

## Overview

- User Perception – what is it?
- Expectation management
- Creeping functions, creepy missions

## User perception

- First impressions count
- Problems with usability reduce confidence
- Rejection is personal
- Perceived utility and value
- One technology – many systems, many experiences

## First impressions count

- Offputting: systems that are
- Dirty/unhygienic
- Scary
- Rickety
- Technology as a “barrier”
- Violation of deeply engrained social norms (“What to you mean I can’t smile?”)

## Low usability reduces confidence

- In technology
- Organisations who build/run it
- Basics
- What kind of system is it?
- What do I have to do?
- Don’t make user twist/turn/dance
- Anything that requires posters & instruction is NOT “walk-up-and-use”

## Rejection is personal

|  | Face | Iris | Finger |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Demo
Rep. Group  | 0.15% | 12.3% | 0.69% |
| Diff.
ability
Group | 2.73% | 39%
 | 3.91%
 |

- People are not “goats”
- Don’t make them feel that their biometrics are “not good enough”
- Impact on self-esteem and self-image
- Minorities may be particularly sensitive
- Impact on users’ lives

## Utility & value

- Utility for user?
- Better processes
- Convenience
- Value-added services
- Depends to design of end-to-end process & environment, not just biometric system
- Visible improvement of something they care about

## Managing expectations

- Users evaluate performance against expectations
- Similar systems
- But also: expectations created by communications about systems
- Positive perception requires meeting or exceeding expectations

## UK ID cards programme

- Promised at the outset that introduction of ID card and National Identity Register would
- Prevent terrorism and serioius crime
- Reduce illegal immigration, welfare fraud, health tourism ...
- High support (85%) (responding to those ideas)
- Today: well below 50%, especially with young & technology-literate
- Much harder to work your way up from decline ...

## Many systems, many usages

- Range of high-low performance
- Cheap systems less likely to work & simple to overcome
- But: users cannot tell difference
- Intermingling with different purposes
- Border control vs. payment for drinks
- Integration with other systems - CCTV

## Slide 12

## "We were aiming for it to scan 12 pupils a minute, but it was only managing 5 so has been temporarily suspended as we do not want pupils' meals getting cold while they wait in the queue." 

- Failure to identify + meet requirements = failure.
- Perception spreads to technology in general

## User Acceptance requires

- Perceived need
- Utility/convenience for users
- Trust in operator
- reliability of recognition
- security of data
- use for advertised purposes only

## Creeping functions, creepy missions

- Shift of risk – ID theft vs. physical attack
- Opportunistic usage of data
- Advancements in technology of technology
- Shifting policies

## Opportunistic use of data

- Law enforcement: investigation/evidence
- Use of investigatory powers by local authorities in UK
- Residence in school district
- Infringement of rubbish policies
- Tax matters
- Shellfish harvesting

## Slide 17

## Slide 18

## Conclusions

- Much homework to be done:
- Usability
- Universal access
- Utility and convenience for users
- Testing, testing, ... and learning and improvement
- Quality assurance, usability and performance standards

## Conclusions 

- Continuing “arms race” of new technologies, more & more data increases burden on users
- Careful management of expectations – don’t promise what you can’t deliver
- Strategies for managing perceptions and expectations in face of increasing diversity of systems and applications
- Separate “high assurance” and “convenience” biometrics?