biometria

Biometria, or biometrics, is the measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioral characteristics of individuals for the purposes of identification and authentication. It relies on features that are distinctive to a person and relatively stable over time. Physiological traits include fingerprints, facial geometry, iris or retina patterns, hand geometry, and DNA; behavioral traits include voice, gait, and keystroke dynamics.

Biometric systems capture samples from a person, extract relevant features, and compare them to stored reference templates or to external data. Authentication verifies a claimed identity, while identification determines a person’s identity from a set of candidates. Most systems compare live samples to enrolled templates and assess similarity using algorithmic scores. Performance is described by metrics such as false acceptance rate, false rejection rate, and equal error rate. Enrollment creates secure templates and often involves protection measures to prevent reconstruction of raw biometric data.

Applications are widespread: mobile devices use fingerprint or face recognition for unlock; border control and law enforcement employ iris or facial recognition; access control for facilities; time-and-attendance systems; and financial services for customer authentication. Biometrics can improve convenience and security but raise privacy, consent, and data-protection concerns. Because biometric traits are largely permanent, compromises can have long-term consequences. Data protection measures include encryption, template protection, consent management, and data minimization; regulatory frameworks such as GDPR govern collection and processing in many jurisdictions.

History traces biometric use from 19th-century fingerprint records to modern digital systems. Ongoing research aims to reduce bias, improve accuracy across conditions, and develop interoperable standards.