How Fingerprint Ignition Works, and Your Privacy

From touch to start

1. Touch. The capacitive sensor wakes when a finger touches it and captures the print.
2. Match on the unit. The print is compared with the fingerprints enrolled on that unit. Nothing is sent anywhere to decide.
3. Check the rules. The controller checks that the user is active and, if set, inside their allowed time window.
4. Release the circuit. The relay closes and the engine can start. A short tone and the blue ring confirm it.
5. Record it. The start, or the refusal, is written to the unit's log, and uploaded when a connection is available.

Your fingerprint data

Fingerprints are enrolled on the sensor as templates: mathematical descriptions of the ridges, not photographs. They are stored in the sensor on the unit. Matching happens there.

FlexTor's cloud service does not need fingerprint data to work. It manages who is enrolled and receives the start records, which carry the user ID, not the fingerprint. Deleting a user deletes their templates from the unit.

Built to be hard to defeat

Wired like an immobiliser. The controller interrupts the start circuit through a relay and is concealed behind trim.
Lockout after repeated failures. Several refused attempts in a row lock fingerprint starts for a period, and the lockout survives a power cycle.
Signed remote commands. On connected units, every remote command is signed by the server, expires, and is logged with who sent it.
Encrypted connection. Connected units only talk to FlexTor's own servers over an encrypted connection and authenticate with a per-unit key.

Questions

Common questions

Does FlexTor store pictures of fingerprints?

No. The sensor stores templates, which are not images, and keeps them on the unit.

What if the sensor cannot read my finger?

Enrol up to three fingers per person, so a cut or a dirty finger has a backup. On connected units an admin can also start the vehicle from the app.

Does it work in the rain or with dirty hands?

The sensor is built for bikes and plant. Very wet or very dirty fingers can fail to read; wiping the finger usually fixes it.

Can it be bypassed by cutting the wires?

The controller is hidden and the start circuit stays interrupted without it. No immobiliser is impossible to defeat, but it costs a thief time they rarely have.

Questions about how it works?

Tell us what you want to protect and we will explain how FlexTor would be fitted and set up.

Email contact@flextor.ai

Distributor, reseller or installer? Put Distributor in the subject line.