Comparison of BlindLoginV2 and AudioBlindLogin with the common textual password authentication for the blind and visually impaired using smartphones

Abstract

BlindLoginV2 and AudioBlindLogin were designed as memorable and usable graphical authentication systems for the blind and visually impaired, to reduce their difficulties in authentication as compared to alphanumeric or biometric authentication. The main aim of this paper is to compare the use of these two alternative graphical authentication systems with the traditional textual-based authentication, and to encourage the blind and visually impaired to use smartphone authentication, by overcoming the difficulties of maneuvering the virtual keyboard. It compares BlindLoginV2 and AudioBlindLogin with the 4-character common traditional textual authentication system, in terms of password creation time, mean login time performance and failure rate, and identifies the factors influencing the mean login time performance of BlindLoginV2 (object picture superiority effect) and AudioBlindLogin (auditory picture superiority effect) for the blind and visually impaired. Quantitative testing results show that both proposed systems are more accessible for the visually impaired as compared with the traditional text-based authentication system because the password creation time and mean login time is significantly shorter with lower failure rates. Results also show that the type of authentication method, the visual capability and the age of the user, and the interactions between these three factors significantly influences the mean login time performance.