Information is king these days, and folks who control the most information in the world are often the ones sitting on top. After all, if you have knowledge of a company’s internal workings as well as where they’re headed, chances are you would make your next share purchase decision based on that in order to secure a generous windfall once the general populace knows about it, right? While data is becoming more available across all levels of society, it also pays to remember that we ought to take extra care in keeping our personal data secure, and this is what the latest patent filing from Apple is all about. The Cupertino-based organization is currently working on a new technique which helps hide a biometric reader within an iPhone or a Mac, allowing users to lock down their systems using fingerprints and perhaps even facial recognition software without having to break through their usual routine.

This patent filing was published for the first time this week, showing that Apple aims to offer a more secure way to prevent unauthorized access to an entire device in addition keeping busybodies out of your private information without relying on standard techniques such as passcodes. In addition, employing the use of biometric technology also reduces taking bites out of the owner’s time, and best of all is, you no longer need to remember yet another password or passcode, leaving those brain cells to do something more important. Apple hopes to employ this solution by using a sensor hidden within the device itself, or one that has been repurposed from its standard role. Imagine having the touchscreen on the iPhone or touchpad on the MacBook recognize your fingerprint or finger vein pattern by touching the display. As for facial recognition, that would mean falling back on a forward-facing camera that checks out retinal patterns.

Source: Apple Insider