Back at last year’s Google I/O, the company mentioned that they are working on a method that would eliminate the need for passwords entirely. Said password-free system, called Project Abacus, may soon become a reality as Google will be making the system available to developers by the end of the year.
According to Google, Project Abacus will work via biometrics. The system will run in the background and monitor a combination of signals such as typing patterns, walking patterns, current location, and more. These signals will build up a “Trust Score” that is calculating using all the signals above as well as speed and voice patterns, facial recognition, and many other factors.
Key to this entire system is “Trust API,” a system that will be tested out in “several very large financial institutions” according to Google. If the test is successful, Google states that this API will be made available to every Android developer around the world by the end of the year.
While the system itself sounds interesting, there is no doubt that the way Project Abacus would make some uncomfortable. With the way Project Abacus works, we expect many to be very skeptical about the safety of using such a system.
Source: TechCrunch