Eyes-free gesture passwords: a comparison of various eyes-free input methods

Abstract

With modern smartphones, users can access to secured applications such as e-banking, booking flight tickets, and etc. Using these applications in public areas is risky since it is easy for people around the user to peep at the password input. One way to enhance security is to enter the passwords inside one's pocket or purse in an eyes-free manner. In this paper, we designed, prototyped and evaluated four eyes-free password entry methods (Number Pad, Wheel, Stroke, and Scroll) on the iPhone. Our experiment results showed the comparative advantages of the Wheel (Figure 1b) and Stroke (Figure 1c) methods. In addition to that, guidelines and implications for designing eyes-free password entry methods are also discussed.