This guide is for individuals going through a Persona-powered identity verification flow. While we’ve included helpful tips, the verification was set up by the business, service, or organization that asked you to verify. They use Persona as a tool, and they ultimately decide what’s required and can assist with your specific situation, if you’re having trouble.
What the step is doing
The selfie step needs a clear, current view of your face. Some verification flows also ask you to turn your head, move closer, or follow a prompt on screen. When the step restarts, the camera did not get a view it could use, so it is asking again.
A repeat here is not a judgement about you. It is nearly always the light, the framing, or movement.
Keep going. Two or three repeats is ordinary, not a sign you are being turned away, and people give up far earlier than they need to. Change one thing between attempts rather than repeating the same one, and work down the list below.
Get the framing right
- Centre your face and fill the oval. Too far away is the most common reason a selfie will not take. Bring the phone closer until your face reaches the guide.
- Hold the phone at eye level, straight on. Looking down at a phone in your lap puts your face at an angle and in shadow.
- Get your whole face in. Chin, forehead, and both sides, all inside the frame.
- Be the only person in the shot. Ask anyone behind you to step aside.
- Use a plain background where you can. A busy or moving background gives the camera more to sort through.
Get the light right
- Face the light. Stand facing a window or a lamp so your face is lit evenly.
- Never have the light behind you. A bright window at your back turns your face into a silhouette. This is the single biggest cause of a selfie that will not take.
- Avoid harsh overhead light, which casts shadows down your face. Softer light from in front is better.
- Do not sit in the dark and rely on the screen. If the room is dim, turn a light on.
Hold still and follow the prompt
- Stay still once you are in frame, and wait for the capture indicator rather than moving away early.
- If it asks you to move, move slowly. A quick turn blurs the frame.
- Brace your arm against your body or rest your elbow on something.
What to take off
- Hats, sunglasses, and face coverings. Take them off if you can, then put them back afterwards.
- Prescription glasses. Try once without them. Reflections on the lenses can get in the way, and what each business allows differs; see Can I wear glasses or a hat during verification?.
- Push hair back off your face if it falls across your eyes.
If the camera never opens at all
That is a different problem. See My selfie won’t capture and My camera shows a black screen.
If it takes the photo but you are still sent back
Then the capture itself worked and something after it did not go through. Go again with the tips above, and give it more than one or two tries before you stop.
If you have worked through the light, the framing and the device and it is still repeating, contact the business that asked you to verify. They set this flow up, so they are the ones who can look at your case or offer another way through it.