Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Computer Science Dept.

Advisor(s)

Naser Al Madi

Abstract

Radial authentication interfaces offer privacy-preserving, calibration-free eye-movement authentication. While their effectiveness has been demonstrated on large displays, their performance on smartphones remains underexplored. This study investigates seven radial interface configurations on the iPhone 13, varying the number of radial indicators and password lengths to examine trade-offs between accuracy, security, and entry time. Through a controlled eye-tracking experiment with 27 participants, we evaluate each configuration’s performance and collect user prioritizations of the three factors. Our findings reveal that shorter passwords with fewer indicators improve speed and accuracy but reduce security, while longer configurations enhance security at the cost of usability. Based on both empirical results and user preferences, a configuration with four indicators and a four-digit password provides the optimal balance between these competing criteria.

Keywords

eye-movement, authentication, smartphone, interfaces, security, usability

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