Apple Wins New Biometric Technique Patent

ID & Secure Document News™ continues its tracking of the intellectual property strategies of big tech companies in the areas of identity and biometric technologies.

A recent patent grant to Apple (US Patent granted June 2025) underscores the company’s interest in biometric sensing, allowing identity authentication systems that operate anonymously and without physical contact.

The patent details a method for extracting biometric identity information from a live subject using radar signals. Unlike traditional methods that rely on contact- based sensors or camera imaging, this approach uses modulated radio-frequency (RF) transmissions. These signals are directed at a human subject, reflected off their body, and then analysed by the device to identify physiological signatures associated with identity.

At the heart of the system is a technique for computing differential phase information from the reflected RF signals. These phase shifts correlate with small-scale physiological motions such as heartbeat or breathing, which are unique and can serve as a biometric identifier. The patent proposes that biometric data, including heartbeat and respiration patterns, can be captured in real time through this radar- based analysis, forming a biometric time- series unique to each individual.