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Amazon Selfie Pay: Company Files Patent For Face-Recognition Security

Selfie pay could be coming to the e-commerce giant.

Amazon wants to ditch passwords and let you pay with your face.

The company has filed an application with the U.S. Payment and Trademark Office to let shoppers use photos and videos of themselves in place of entering a set of numbers and letters to access their account.

In order to prevent impersonation, a user would be prompted to take a selfie, and then a second one of themselves completing an action, like winking or tilting their head. This would ensure the shopper is actually the one sitting in front of the computer.

Amazon argues that passwords can be stolen, leading to impersonation or fraud, according to their application. They also say passwords are not user-friendly.

"The small touchscreen or keyboard elements can be difficult to accurately select using a relatively large human finger, and can require the user to turn away from friends or co-workers when entering a password, which can be awkward or embarrassing in many situations," the application reads.

The company says having long or complex passwords means that users often have them stored elsewhere, or resort to using short passwords that can be easily guessed.

Mastercard recently launched "selfie pay" and fingerprint payment options, which will be coming to Canada this summer.

With a file from The Canadian Press

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