Verify Users with Vonage APIs

Introduction

In today's blog post, I’ll go through some of the Vonage tools you can use to verify your users' identities and ensure they are in the actual location, showcasing the Verify and Location Network APIs.

Note: The Vonage Device Location Network APIs are currently available through a Virtual Operator simulated mode. In the near future, we will begin offering coverage in select countries.

Verify with Silent Authentication

The Vonage Verify API is a complete turnkey solution for two-factor authentication (2FA). It offers multiple authentication options across six different channels, with built-in automatic failover to ensure messages are delivered reliably. Designed for global use, it supports multiple languages, country-specific preferences, and charged only on completion pricing, it reduces risk while maintaining reliable and straightforward authentication.

Silent Authentication enables invisible user authentication through the mobile network, with availability depending on the carrier's coverage and territory. 2FA without the need for one-time passcodes (OTP) simplifies the user journey with smooth, in-the-background authentication, eliminates social engineering and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, improves conversions, and is powered by Network APIs.

Identity Insights

The Identity Insights API provides developers with instant insights into a phone number, including verification of its proper assignment, detection of recent SIM swaps, and identification of its carrier. It also enables location verification, allowing you to confirm whether a device is in the correct location during a request, by tracing its carrier route and signature.

Location Verification Insight

Overview 

The Vonage Location Verification Insight makes it simple to add location-based functionality to your applications. Unlike GPS, it doesn’t require additional hardware and works with any 4G or 5G SIM. The API is flexible enough to support a wide range of industries and use cases, providing reliable location data both indoors and outdoors.

Challenges Addressed

The Location Verification Insight helps confirm that users are within an authorized region before granting access to services, content, or licenses, such as in gaming. It can also confirm that a user’s device is in the expected location during an online sign-up, for example, verifying that a customer’s phone is near their home when registering for a bank account.

Benefits

Vonage Location Verification Insight is more accurate and secure than IP-based geolocation, which can be spoofed. It works with any 4G or 5G SIM-enabled device, including IoT hardware, without requiring extra app code, cutting development costs. For IoT devices, this API eliminates the need for GPS hardware, reducing cost and complexity. The API is flexible and works well for a variety of use cases, whether indoors or outdoors, across different types of projects.

Location Verification for Streaming Services

When using streaming services, your customers might have noticed that some content is not available in their region. In the UK, we have recently started experiencing this issue with several applications. Even though it can be frustrating, it’s essential to understand that content licenses are legally binding, and it’s crucial to comply with them.

When accessing streaming services, customers who try to log in from a different country may be blocked and asked to confirm their identity. Many websites also add verification checks to confirm their ages and identities. We can see across many sectors that it’s vital to verify who their users are and where they’re attempting to sign in from.

By using Location Verification Insight, it’s possible to verify if the user's location is authorized for a given service or license. Content providers may query the user’s location when they attempt to access digital content that is licensed to a specific geographical region. This scenario is possible as long as the streaming is done from a mobile device or a tablet with a SIM card.

Compare Browser Geolocation with Network Location

As many customers will use a VPN to circumvent geographic restrictions and age verification, network location provides an additional layer of verification, ensuring that the user is authorized for service or content availability. Compare the location obtained via browser geolocation with the network location before providing the content or service.

You can learn more about Location Verification and Geolocation.

Sign Up Attempts

In terms of fraud prevention, we can verify that users are at the location where an online sign-up is being attempted. For example, verifying that the customer is at home when signing up for a bank account. There are many other use cases we can consider for verifying bank transactions.

Conclusion

We have just seen that there are many ways to verify our users' identities and locations. Here are some inspirational ideas on how to use Location Verification.