Google Adds Selfie Video Recovery for Users Locked Out of Their Accounts

Google has announced a new feature allowing users to sign-in to their accounts by taking a selfie video. This is intended as an alternative recovery method for users who are locked out of their accounts or cannot access their usual recovery methods, such as email addresses or phone numbers. The process involves users recording a short video selfie, which is then compared to a previously saved selfie video. Google emphasizes that this feature is entirely opt-in and users retain full control, with the ability to delete it at any time.

The selfie video verification is designed with three primary purposes: to assist users in regaining access to their accounts, unlock additional features and services by verifying a user’s identity and prevent automated bot traffic through liveness detection. The video is stored in an encrypted format and is only used for account verification purposes, unless the user chooses to share it for other use cases, such as improving facial recognition and age estimation.

Google Cloud Fraud Defense has also announced a new hand gesture verification system that uses liveness detection to tackle automated bot traffic. The hand gesture verification system prompts users to perform simple hand movements while their camera is turned on, extracting hand landmark data.

Google stated that the videos are never associated with a user’s identity and are deleted after the verification process. The data is used to improve Google services, but not to create a database of user images. Users can manage this setting through their Google Account settings.