Configurable vehicle authorization using local biometric authentication

An apparatus comprising a biometric authenticator that is in data communication with an application executing on an infotainment system of a vehicle, said biometric authenticator comprising a vehicular component that executes on said infotainment system and a remote component that executes on a remote server, wherein said biometric authenticator further comprises a policy store that stores authentication policies, each of which corresponds to a different task, said policies including a first policy that defines a first biometric authentication procedure that is specific to a first task, wherein said biometric authenticator is configured to generate a second policy based on said first policy and to carry out biometric authentication of an occupant of said vehicle, said occupant having requested execution of said first task, wherein said biometric authenticator is further configured to use said second policy to carry out biometric authentication of said occupant and, based on a result of said biometric authentication, to authorize performance of said first task, wherein said second policy defines a second biometric authentication procedure that differs from said first biometric authentication procedure.

A method comprising executing first and second instances of an application in infotainment systems of corresponding first and second vehicles, wherein said first and second instances of said application have been requested, by corresponding occupants in said vehicles, to perform corresponding first and second tasks, wherein said first and second tasks are identical, wherein said method further comprises causing said first instance of said application to carry out out a first biometric authentication procedure to authenticate said first occupant and causing said second instance of said application to carry out a second biometric authentication procedure to authenticate said second occupant, said first biometric authentication procedure differing from said second biometric authentication procedure as a result of said first and second vehicles being in different states, said different states giving rise to corresponding differences in context information for said first and second vehicles.