Anonymization techniques for behavioral biometric data: a survey

Our behavior —the way we talk, walk, act, or think— is unique and can be used as a biometric trait. It also correlates with sensitive attributes like emotions and health conditions. With more and more behavior tracking techniques (e.g. fitness trackers, mixed reality) entering our everyday lives mor...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hanisch, Simon, Arias Cabarcos, Patricia, Parra Arnau, Javier|||0000-0002-1772-1088, Strufe, Thorsten
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/429921
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/429921
https://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3729418
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Security and privacy
Security services
Pseudonymity
Anonymity and untraceability
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Telemàtica i xarxes d'ordinadors
Descripción
Sumario:Our behavior —the way we talk, walk, act, or think— is unique and can be used as a biometric trait. It also correlates with sensitive attributes like emotions and health conditions. With more and more behavior tracking techniques (e.g. fitness trackers, mixed reality) entering our everyday lives more of our behavior is captured and processed. Hence, techniques to protect individuals’ privacy against unwanted inferences are required, before such data is processed. To consolidate knowledge in this area, we are the first to systematically review suggested anonymization techniques for behavioral biometric data. We taxonomize and compare existing solutions regarding privacy goals, conceptual operation, advantages, and limitations. Our categorization allows for the comparison of anonymization techniques across different behavioral biometric traits. We review anonymization techniques for the behavioral biometric traits of voice, gait, hand motions, eye gaze, heartbeat (ECG), and brain activity (EEG). Our analysis shows that some behavioral traits (e.g., voice) have received much attention, while others (e.g., eye gaze, brain activity) are mostly neglected. We also find that the evaluation methodology of behavioral anonymization techniques can be further improved.