Apple just patented a booby trap to catch thieves using Touch ID

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Apple is working on a new level of security of your iPhone and it involves Touch ID.

Apple doesn’t mess around when it comes to their devices being stolen. A new patent filed by the company describes “a method of storing an unauthorized user’s biometric information,” reports Apple Insider.

Meaning if Touch ID isn’t detecting an unauthorized users fingerprint, it’ll capture an image of the scan, which helps catch the person who stole your phone later down the line. It’s even possible that the phone will even take a picture or video of the person trying to hack your device.

Here’s a snapshot of the description of Apple’s patent:

A computing device may determine to capture biometric information in response to the occurrence of one or more trigger conditions. The trigger condition may be receipt of one or more instructions from one or more other computing devices, detection of potential unauthorized use by the computing device, normal operation of the computing device, and so on.

The computing device may obtain biometric information and may store such biometric information. Such biometric information may be one or more fingerprints, one or more images of a current user of the computing device, video of the current user, audio of the environment of the computing device, forensic interface use information, and so on. The computing device may then provide the stored biometric information for identification of one or more unauthorized users.

Like most patents, this feature may never see the light of day. Apple is just claiming their right to the idea.

As an iPhone user, I would happily welcome this feature. iPhones are being stolen left and right, so this extra level of security is something that I wouldn’t mind having. Not sure if that resonates with everyone who has an iPhone.

► Apple Insider

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.