1. A method of determining a pseudo-identity from characteristics of a set of minutiae corresponding to a fingerprint, comprising the steps of: estimating additional information on said fingerprint from characteristics of said set of minutiae and with a given level of confidence; determining local descriptors around at least some of the minutiae of said set of minutiae, the local descriptors comprising: (i) relative to zones containing the additional information estimated with the given level of confidence, values calculated from said information, and (ii) relative to zones not containing the additional information estimated with the given level of confidence, erasures; quantizing the determined local descriptors in the form of q-area vectors, wherein at least one (q+1) th value is reserved for the local descriptors comprising the erasures; coding the quantized local descriptors using an error-tolerant coding algorithm associated with a decoding algorithm devised in order to take account of the errors and erasures within the coded quantized local descriptors; and determining a pseudo-identity based on at least some of the coded quantized local descriptors.