Fact · Typing and writing speed
Joyce and Gupta's 1990 abstract describes the stream of latency periods between keystrokes as a unique digital signature.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“a unique digital signature in the form of a stream of latency periods between keystrokes”
Identity authentication based on keystroke latencies, Rick Joyce and Gopal Gupta, Communications of the ACM, 1990, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.1145/75577.75582)- What it measures
- The abstract says the same features that make a handwritten signature identify a person can make a typing pattern identify a user, and that the method was tested in trial use.
- What it does not show
- The fact rests on the abstract. The full paper is behind a paywall, and the abstract does not give the error rates of the trial.