With all the security concerns as of late, I would think twice about having the device I use most throughout my day having a fingerprint scanner. Even if apple didn't sell/give away the information as they might be required to, there is always the possibility of exploits and 3rd parties gaining unauthorized access to your fingerprints. Imagine what the implications of that could be?
Even if the ip5s has a 70mp camera A9 chip and prints money, I won't be getting it if it includes a fingerprint scanner (the option to turn it off wouldn't negate the possibility it could get in the wrong hands).
Give Apple a little more credit.
Apple will not store your fingerprint on the device, much less a server. Apple will use your fingerprint and other biometric data obtained from the sensor (such as skin density and vein patterns)
in conjunction with information unique to your particular phone and/or iCloud account to create a password key -- the equivalent of a very, very, very long alphanumeric password.
Developers will not have direct, low-level access to the hardware to grab your fingerprint. However, developers should be able to call an Apple software routine that would generate a password key (I.e., a long number of 1s and 0s) based on the unique combination of your fingerprint, other biometric data, and the device hardware.
A fingerprint scanner, iOS keychain, and fingerprint functions for developers would:
- eliminate the long alphanumeric passwords currently required by government and corporate networks;
- provide secure authentication for mobile payments, including purchases from the Apple Store, as well as wireless payments made to vendors using near field communication or Bluetooth;
- simplify web login/password entry for the web, whereby a fingerprint scan would populate the user's login/password and personal information from a secure password store (IOS Keychain) in Safari;
- eliminate login/password entry for third-party iOS7 applications (e.g., your bank's IOS app), by allowing third-party developers to substitute fingerprints for passwords;
- provide seamless multi-user support, which would benefit home users, as well as corporations and governments, that share one device (e.g., iPad, future Macbooks) among multiple users.
A fingerprint sensor is key to (a) corporate and government customers and (b) mobile payments. Corporations and government agencies currently require 8-12 digit alphanumeric passwords to unlock a phone; a fingerprint reader would eliminate these passwords, if properly implemented. Mobile payments haven't taken off because of concerns over security; a fingerprint reader, or a pin combined with a fingerprint reader, would largely address those concerns.
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Still, a fingerprint scanner is HORRIBLE for personal security reasons. It takes little more than a piece of clear tape to defeat a fingerprint scanner, and they wouldn't even need to try to find your fingerprint on a can or whatever, since your phone has your prints literally covering it.
You've watched a few too many spy movies, or perhaps the episode of Mythbusters where they defeated 10-year-old fingerprint technology. The newest generations of fingerprint sensors detect and use additional biometric information, such as temperature, skin density, and vein patterns, to produce passwords that are the equivalent of alphanumeric passwords that are dozens of characters long.