1:1 face match
Confirm the person requesting recovery matches the account’s enrolled face template.
Account Recovery & Step-Up Authentication
Account Recovery & Step-Up Authentication
Before resetting a password or approving a high-risk action, confirm it’s really the enrolled user asking – with a fast face-and-liveness check instead of a security question an attacker might already know the answer to.
Faster than security questionsLiveness-backedFits web, mobile, or call-center flows
✓
Liveness detection
Ensure a real, present person is completing the check, not a photo of the account owner.
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Step-up trigger
Require this check only for high-risk actions, layered on top of existing authentication.
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Overview
Replacing Weak Recovery Questions With a Biometric Check
Account recovery is a favorite target for attackers precisely because it’s designed to be an exception path – a way back in when the normal credential is lost. Security questions and recovery emails are both commonly compromised or guessable, which is why step-up identity checks at this exact moment matter so much.
FacePlugin lets you require a face-and-liveness match against the user’s previously enrolled template before approving a password reset, a device change, or any other high-risk action – the same core capability used for everyday biometric sign-in, applied specifically to the recovery and step-up moment. See the biometric authentication page for the broader authentication use case this builds on.
Built From
The SDKs Behind This Use Case
Licensed once, run on infrastructure you control, with no per-check fees.
1:1 face match
Confirm the person requesting recovery matches the account’s enrolled face template.
Liveness detection
Ensure a real, present person is completing the check, not a photo of the account owner.
Step-up trigger
Require this check only for high-risk actions, layered on top of existing authentication.
How It Works
A Typical Flow
1
Trigger
A password reset, device change, or other high-risk action triggers the step-up check.
2
Capture & Match
The user presents their face, which is matched against their enrolled template.
3
Approve or Escalate
A passing match-and-liveness result lets your application proceed; a failed one can route to manual review.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the biometric authentication page?
This page focuses specifically on the recovery and step-up scenario; the biometric authentication page covers passwordless sign-in and multi-factor use more broadly.
What happens if the face check fails during recovery?
That’s your application’s decision – FacePlugin returns a structured match-and-liveness result, and your own account-recovery policy decides whether a failed check blocks the request, requires a fallback method, or routes to manual support review.
Does this require the user to have enrolled a face beforehand?
Yes – this flow verifies a fresh capture against a previously stored template, so a face must have been enrolled at some earlier point, typically at account creation or first login.
Ready to Add Account Recovery & Step-Up Authentication?
Talk to our team about your workflow — we’ll point you to the right SDK combination and get a 15-day evaluation license started.