A Vienna-based biometrics specialist has announced a new, free app designed to facilitate mobile fingerprint or facial recognition for PC and Mac users. The eponymous Sezame app is compatible with Windows 10 and Mac OS 10.11 – 10.13.

The solution arrives soon after the launch of the FIDO Alliance’s FIDO2 authentication standards, which are designed to enable biometric authentication through web browsers, with users either performing a biometric scan on a paired mobile device or tapping a USB security key to log in. Sezame’s announcement did not mention FIDO standards, but its solution is similarly aimed at replacing passwords on PCs and laptops by leveraging the power of smartphone biometrics; and, like FIDO-compliant solutions, its ensures that users’ data is kept on their respective devices, and not sent to an external server.

Elaborating on the solution’s potential, Sezame Chief Commercial Officer Arnout Klaassen said that it could “easily be adapted to, say, ATM machines as well,” adding, “Even unlocking your door, business, car can be done conveniently through biometrics.”

The company’s announcement also strongly emphasized that the Sezame app is free. In a post-Cambridge Analytica environment in which a growing number of consumers are aware of the aphorism, “If you’re not paying, you’re the product,” that approach could backfire, especially if Sezame does not offer more transparency over its business model. But the company will have plenty of opportunities to address any such concerns as its representatives promote the solution at upcoming industry events including TNW, Mobile360 Series in The Hague, MoneyConf, and IoT World Europe.

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