Survey or industry report
A Survey of Keystroke Dynamics Biometrics
Pin Shen Teh et al., PubMed Central, 2013 · DOI 10.1155/2013/408280
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A review of three decades of research on keystroke dynamics as a biometric, covering data capture, feature choices, classifiers and evaluation. It compares the method's advantages, such as low cost and no extra hardware, with its disadvantages, such as lower accuracy than fingerprints or iris scans.
- How much weight it carries
- A survey article in a peer-reviewed venue, indexed in PubMed Central. It reviews published studies rather than running a new test, so its figures are only as good as the studies it cites. Its authors note that an up-to-date, extensive evaluation was not yet available in 2013.
Facts taken from this source
- A 2013 survey says user-defined typing is closer to a real-world scenario than fixed text.
“user defined input resembles closer to real world scenario than fixed text” (Section on experimental protocols (fixed text versus free text))
- A 2013 survey says keystroke dynamics is inferior for authentication accuracy, because typing rhythm varies with injury, fatigue or distraction.
“Keystroke dynamics biometrics are inferior in terms of authentication accuracy due to the variations in typing rhythm that caused by external factors such as injury, fatigue, or distraction.” (Section 2.3.1, Lower Accuracy)
- A 2013 survey says keystroke dynamics requires none or minimal alteration to user behavior, because background software captures the typing pattern.
“It requires none or minimal alteration to user behavior since the capture of keystroke pattern is done via backend software implementation.” (Section 2.2.3, Transparency and Noninvasiveness)