What is a liveness check?
Confirming a real, present person is taking the selfie — not a photo or deepfake.
Definition
A liveness check confirms that the face in a selfie or short video belongs to a real, living person who is present at that moment — not a printed photo, a screen, a mask or a deepfake. It is usually run together with a face match, which compares that face against the photo on an identity document. Together they make it much harder for someone to impersonate another person during identity verification.
In plain English
In plain English: a liveness check makes sure a real person is actually there when they take a selfie — so a fraudster can’t just hold up someone else’s photo or a deepfake to pass as them.
Why it matters
Stolen IDs and AI-generated faces make document-only checks easy to fake. A liveness check raises the bar for fraud and gives you stronger, consent-led proof that the person verifying is genuinely who they claim to be.
Verify with confidence — start free
No subscription · pay per check · consent built in
Related on Verifisha
Run this kind of check with consent
Verifisha helps Kenyan teams verify people and businesses, with consent built in.
No subscription · pay per check · consent-led & ODPC-aligned
Or get verified yourself
It is not only for checking other people — verify your own identity and build a vetted, shareable trust profile you can send to employers, landlords or partners. Get verified once and reuse it everywhere, with consent.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between liveness and face match?
A liveness check confirms the selfie is a real, present person. A face match compares that face to the photo on their ID. They are usually run together: liveness stops spoofing, and face match ties the person to their identity document.
Does a liveness check stop deepfakes?
It is designed to. A liveness check looks for signals that a genuine, live person is present rather than a photo, screen, mask or AI-generated face, which makes impersonation and deepfake attacks much harder.
Is a liveness check consent-led?
Yes. A liveness check involves sensitive biometric information, so the person is asked to approve it before it runs, and the approval is kept on record. It is used only to confirm identity and prevent fraud.
Verify anyone — or get verified yourself.
Run consent-led KYC, KYB, AML, CRB and background checks in one place — or build your own verified, shareable trust profile for jobs, rentals and deals. Trust made simple, for Kenya and Africa.