Identy.io CEO, Jesus Aragon, On Life-Saving Mobile Biometrics

When a child or an elderly family member goes missing, the clock starts ticking. And when every second counts, traditional identity‑verification methods (passwords, personal questions, paper records) are too slow, too cumbersome, and too prone to human error for life‑critical situations. My Family ID’s mission is simple but profound: give parents, caregivers, and first responders the tools to reunite vulnerable loved ones with their families quickly and securely. To make that vision a reality, My Family ID has partnered with Identy.io, a mobile‑first biometric solution that turns any smartphone into a fully featured, touchless fingerprint and facial scanner. 

We sat down with Jesus  Aragon, Co‑Founder & CEO of Identy.io, to explore how his team’s groundbreaking technology revolutionizing the landscape of digital identification and three‑second capture, multi‑layer security, and true on‑device processing make this technology uniquely suited for life‑critical, mission‑driven applications.

The Challenge: Verifying Identity When Every Minute Counts

Imagine a busy airport, border crossing, or emergency scene. Among the sea of faces, law enforcement or social‑service workers find an unaccompanied minor or a confused elder. They have a name and a description, but no easy way to verify identity on the spot. 

Paper records must be retrieved, databases accessed, and families located, sometimes across borders. Time and resources evaporate at precisely the moment they’re needed most. The truth is that this hypothetical turns into a harrowing reality on a daily basis.

“Everyone has a mobile phone, and they have really powerful cameras that a lot of people aren’t really taking full advantage of,” Aragon explained. “We worked with Chuck Still, the founder and president of My Family ID, to create a product that takes high-quality pictures and fingerprints that law enforcement agencies can use to run against scanned images and recorded fingerprints almost instantly,” he beamed. 

That global, device‑agnostic vision laid the foundation for My Family ID’s rollout in both urban centers and remote communities, ensuring no family is left behind.

“Obviously, this is a really robust tool that has different use cases,” added Aragon. “For My Family ID, this technology ensures people can capture their loved ones’ biometric data, whether they’re kids, non-verbal autistic loved ones, or seniors, to ensure that if they lose them or someone goes missing, you can initiate a response from authorities to find them faster than ever – it’s a really incredible use of this technology, and I’m proud to partner with an organization that’s saving lives and protecting the most vulnerable,” he added. 

Traditional biometrics setups, once the domain of highly secure government installations, required specialized hardware and wired connections. They were expensive, immobile, and often beyond the reach of NGOs and local authorities. 

Worse, many modern approaches rely on cloud processing, introducing latency, connectivity hurdles, and potential privacy exposures.

My Family ID recognized that mobile devices are everywhere, but they needed a biometric solution that would work reliably on the phone already in your pocket, under any condition, in seconds, without exposing sensitive data.

By partnering with Identy.io using this innovative technology, My Family ID has created a solution for organizations committed to locating and returning missing people to their loved ones, when every moment can be the difference between relief and heartbreak. 

Related Article: Keep Your Kids Safe with Anti-Kidnapping Devices

Enter Identy.io: A New Paradigm in Mobile Biometrics

Founded in 2018, Identy.io set out to shatter three myths:

1. Mobile biometric capture can’t be fast.

2. On‑device processing means heavy, unrealistic compute.

3. High security requires trade‑offs in usability.

Through rigorous R&D and strategic partnerships, Identy.io built a cross‑platform SDK that integrates seamlessly into any app, whether it’s for banking, government, travel, or, now, family safety apps like My Family ID. 

The result? A touchless fingerprint and facial recognition system that runs entirely on your smartphone’s CPU and camera array, delivering capture, liveness detection, and matching in under three seconds so not a single second is ever wasted when every second counts. 

Related Article: What is a Child Safety Kit?

Built for the Real World: Speed, Reliability, Ubiquity

Three‑Second Capture

Speed is non‑negotiable when lives hang in the balance. Identy.io engineers focused relentlessly on optimizing every millisecond:

• AI‑driven autofocus to lock onto fingerprint ridges and facial features instantly.

• Edge‑optimized deep‑learning models that run on low‑end chipsets.

• Parallel processing to analyze multiple biometric streams (four fingers + face) simultaneously.

The payoff for My Family ID is unmistakable. In a live demo for our team, Aragon demonstrated how quickly families can be reunited. 

Three seconds here translates to minutes, or even hours, saved in the search for a missing loved one. When someone is missing, a few seconds can save a life. 

Related Article: Biometric Face Scanning for Identification of Missing Persons

Device‑Agnostic Performance

High‑end smartphones boast cutting‑edge cameras and AI chips, but to truly democratize access, Identy.io had to support the full spectrum of devices.

“The phones were not built to capture fingerprints very close by like this,” explained Aragon. “Because of that, we do a lot of work on focus to get a really good picture and optimize AI models on constrained hardware,” he added. 

By tailoring algorithms to run on limited hardware with dynamic resolution scaling, selective frame‑capture, and hardware‑accelerated codecs, Identy.io ensures that any smartphone, from flagship to budget, can deliver enterprise‑grade biometrics. 

For My Family ID, that means:

• Law enforcement agencies can instantly verify identities. 

• Remote villages with older Android handsets can instantly verify identities.

• Border‑control agents can process individuals without needing dedicated scanners.

• Volunteers in crisis zones can confirm adults or minors with confidence.

As it relates to the functionality My Family ID itself, this architecture translates to:

• Zero cloud latency—verification in seconds, even offline.

• End‑to‑end data sovereignty—families’ sensitive biometric templates never leave their devices unless explicitly synced.

• Reduced attack surface—no exposed network APIs for traffic analysis or interception.

Precision in the Field: How Biometrics Accelerate Reunions

Biometric verification isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a force multiplier for field teams:

• Police officers can confirm a child’s identity against national missing‑persons databases in minutes.

• Border‑control agents reunite unaccompanied minors with verified guardians without flight delays.

• Social workers validate elderly individuals’ identities in remote communities with limited internet.

• Non-profit organizations can provide this tool to families to ensure that an emergency response takes mere moments instead of hours. 

“We are using biometrics to make sure you find people missing with minimal documentation required because documentation adds time, whether it’s a lost child or a missing elderly person,” said Aragon. “With a mobile phone, rescue parties can capture fingerprints and verify who that person is because today you are not equipped to do that in the field this easily,” he explained. 

In real‑world drills with My Family ID, response teams reduced average verification time from 30 minutes (manually checking IDs, paper records) to under 2 minutes, even in challenging lighting or adverse weather. 

Every saved minute can mean the difference between hope and heartbreak.

Related Article: How Digital Identification Can Help Find Missing Persons

Partnership Philosophy: Why Identy.io & My Family ID Are a Natural Fit

At the heart of both organizations lies a shared ethos:

1. Mission First: Both organizations view technology as a tool for saving lives.

2. Global Impact: Solutions that work from New York City to rural Latin America.

3. People‑Centered Design: Intuitive UX for non‑technical users, such as volunteers, caregivers, first responders.

My Family ID’s platform integrates Identy.io’s SDK into its mobile app, giving families and authorities:

• Instant fingerprint or facial scans of missing persons or found individuals.

• Seamless alerts to law enforcement when mismatches occur.

• Encrypted biometric templates that sync only if users grant permission.

“When you mix mobile with identity, then there is a very powerful story because the fastest and most accurate way to verify your identity is biometrics,” said  Aragon.

For My Family ID, Identy.io isn’t just a vendor; it’s a strategic partner in delivering on the promise of faster, more accurate, privacy‑first reunions.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Mobile Biometric Identity

Despite the innovations they have made through this technology, Aragon and his team aren’t resting on today’s achievements. On the product roadmap:

• Adaptive AI models that learn in real‑time from edge deployments.

• Multimodal biometrics combining iris, voice, and gait to enhance accuracy.

• Regulatory compliance engines that auto‑adjust to local privacy laws.

• Offline‑first sync frameworks for disaster‑response scenarios.

“It happens to be that you have an amazing machine in your pocket – I think we forget how powerful a tool it can be,” said Aragon. “We are only scratching the surface of what’s possible, and apps like My Family ID are leading the charge of helping people use the full potential of these machines,” he smiled. 

As mobile hardware continues to evolve and deepfake threats proliferate, the alliance between My Family ID and Identy.io positions both organizations at the cutting edge of life‑critical identity.

A New Standard for Life‑Critical Verification

In the world of missing people's response, speed, reliability, and security are non‑negotiable. Identy.io’s three‑second, touchless fingerprint and facial recognition, running fully on device and fortified by triple‑layer anti‑spoofing and deepfake defenses, represents a quantum leap forward. Paired with My Family ID’s mission‑driven platform, families and first responders now wield a tool that transforms hope into action.

“When I gave a demo to Chuck at My Family ID, he said, ‘Wow, in three seconds I was able to capture four fingerprints. This is a life‑changing thing for me,’” said Aragon. “He’s someone who’s dedicated his life to saving lives, so his saying ours was life-changing was a huge honor, and we are proud to have partnered with him,” he smiled. 

Together, we’re not just innovating for innovation’s sake; we’re saving lives. And with every three‑second scan, we move one step closer to ensuring that no family faces the agony of not knowing “where” or “who” again.

My Family ID and Identy.io: faster, smarter, more secure families reunified—one fingerprint at a time.