Disclosed herein are embodiments for user identification based on the motion of a device. An embodiment operates by detecting a motion of a remote control. The detected motion is compared with one or more stored motions, wherein each stored motion is associated with a user ID. A user ID is determined to correspond to a user operating the remote control based on the comparing of the detected motion. A confirmation that the determined user ID corresponds to a user associated with the detected motion is requested. Access to a system is provided based on at least the determined user ID.