A touch screen, now incorporated in most smart phones, presents an effective and transparent method to incorporate continuous active user verification schemes. The projected capacitive grid structure can be used to capture information, such as from the user's fingerprint. This information may be used to verify the user, or that a valid user currently has possession of the mobile device, even while the user is not consciously engaged in an active verification interface. Further processing, such as habitual gesture recognition, can augment the process.