Netlok was born out of a conversation between a father and daughter. The daughter posted a photo of her dad online that he neither wanted posted nor gave permission to do so. She insisted that the Internet was made for connection — not to be private — and that started a debate about privacy that propelled the father to learn more about online privacy.

His research yielded an astonishing insight: 80% of kids and parents hide personal information from each other. Yet few companies were servicing this need for online privacy. Instead, most companies were gathering private data to sell for a profit.

In researching how to protect privacy and data, he wondered if you could replace a traditional password with a photo because pictures are much easier to remember than passwords and, eventually, could be used to hide personal information inside the photo. He began talking with hackers as well as graphic and software engineers familiar with imaging and hiding information inside of photos. He discovered that the concept of concealing messages inside of paintings (images) has been around since Roman times (called steganography), so it wasn’t a leap to believe that you could also do it in a digital world.

Once engineering successfully digitized a randomize code inside a photo (called Photolok®), he discovered that Photolok could solve numerous online security problems: from basic online identity and authentication, to sending security alerts and protecting decentralized transactions.

Tony Perez — that father — initiated the development of Photolok’s technology and formed Netlok LLC in 2017. Photolok’s passwordless innovation proceeded to win innovation awards in 2017 and 2018.

Today, Photolok is the first passwordless login that uses patented steganography photos as a standalone MFA IdP login method. More importantly, Photolok is a disruptive login method that also prevents AI/ML attacks.