Biometric data such as iris, facial, or fingerprint data may be obtained from a user. A public code may be generated from the biometric data, but does not obtain any of the biometric data or information that can be used to identify the user. The public code includes information that can be used to extract from the biometric data a biometric code that is suitable for bitwise comparison. Neither the underlying biometric data nor information from which the biometric data may be determined is stored as only the public code and the actual biometric feature of the user is required to generate the biometric code.