Challenges with Electronic Identity Authentication: A Qualitative Study with Participants with Disabilities

The background to this research paper examines why people with disabilities often have additional problems with authentication (i.e., logging in to online services). While the primary focus is on accessible authentication, we also explore its relevance to electronic identification and consider the post-authentication stage of authorization (allowing continued use of a particular service once logged in). While people without disabilities regularly log into websites and applications without too much thought for the process, with an end-goal or task in mind to be achieved with the service that they are accessing, extra barriers exist for people with disabilities. We discover how there is a societal gap in terms of ease-of-use, as previous studies show that people with disabilities can find this step difficult, frustrating, or virtually impossible. For people who have a disability, complications will arise in this process, and we examine the nature of these problems identified by this group. A series of interviews (n = 15) is analyzed using Constructivist Grounded Theory methods to identify patterns in participants’ responses and develop a theory explaining why Accessible Authentication is a problem. While aiming to follow a constructivist methodology, this paper categorizes common traits revealed by participants in interviews. The key findings reveal that most users with disabilities say that the ability to authenticate effectively is reduced by accessibility barriers; in other words, participants felt hindered when logging in because of their disability. This leads us to conclude, with some degree of confidence, that the data implies a lack of accessibility for users of traditional authentication systems. A further area of concern for the participants is that maintaining security alongside ease-of-use was important to them (albeit with no clear winner between usability and security preferences), so future work on improving accessibility should ensure that users with disabilities’ information is not left vulnerable, while maintaining a sufficient level of accessibility for people with disabilities. Further to this, suggestions for achieving an accessible solution are presented in a preliminary Theoretical Framework.