What is Liveness Check?

Anti-spoof technology that confirms a real, live person is present in front of the camera — not a photo, video, or mask.

A liveness check is a biometric verification step that distinguishes a live human from a presentation attack (a photo on a screen, a video replay, a 3D mask, a deepfake). It's the linchpin of remote KYC: without liveness, an ID photo alone could be lifted from social media or obtained in a data breach. PDF Verified uses passive liveness (analysing depth, texture, and micro-movements without user action) plus active challenges (blink, turn head) on KYC-required documents.

Passive vs active liveness

Passive liveness analyses the captured frame for cues a live face shows (skin texture, blood flow, micro-movements). The user doesn't do anything special — it's seamless. Active liveness asks for an action: blink, turn, smile. Active is harder to spoof but slows the flow. PDF Verified uses passive by default with optional active challenges for high-risk transactions.

NIST and iBeta certification

Liveness vendors are rated by NIST and iBeta against PAD (Presentation Attack Detection) standards. PDF Verified's liveness provider (Smile ID) is iBeta Level 2 certified, the bar required for most financial-services KYC.

Why liveness matters legally

Without liveness, KYC reduces to "ID document was uploaded" — which a fraudster with a stolen passport can do. With liveness, the audit trail shows "live person matching ID was present at signing time" — a much stronger evidentiary claim.