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Disabling the iPhone 5S's fingerprint reader - any suggestions?

This is for the US only and please correct me if I'm wrong:

Isn't everyone who applies for a drivers license required to have their fingerprints scanned and doesn't it say on the application form that you agree that the FBI is storing your fingerprints. At least that's what I recall when I did my US license a couple years ago as a souvenir to take home to my country.

Since public transport isn't really that well developed in the US I guess people pretty much need a license to get around on their own. If nearly everyone over 16 has a license the government should have a pretty extensive fingerprint database already. Therefore nearly every print collected can be associated to a person already on file - regardless of what fake ID you used to register the phone.

If you ask me, it's a genius solution for any "to track & observe" related agency.
 
in4fun said:
This is for the US only and please correct me if I'm wrong:

Isn't everyone who applies for a drivers license required to have their fingerprints scanned and doesn't it say on the application form that you agree that the FBI is storing your fingerprints. At least that's what I recall when I did my US license a couple years ago as a souvenir to take home to my country.

Since public transport isn't really that well developed in the US I guess people pretty much need a license to get around on their own. If nearly everyone over 16 has a license the government should have a pretty extensive fingerprint database already. Therefore nearly every print collected can be associated to a person already on file - regardless of what fake ID you used to register the phone.

If you ask me, it's a genius solution for any "to track & observe" related agency.
Click to expand...

No, absolutely not. I've had FBI digital fingerprint scans - for a job in a school but certainly not to get a driver's license.
 
cmichaelb said:
lol some people would have, that's for sure. Not the OP though.
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Yep. Over here in Germany it's basically the same. A huge discussion emerged after the introduction of the fingerprint reader - even in the tech related news. One week ago the same media stated they would be very disappointed if it would only be a rumor and not being introduced :confused:
 
in4fun said:
This is for the US only and please correct me if I'm wrong:

Isn't everyone who applies for a drivers license required to have their fingerprints scanned and doesn't it say on the application form that you agree that the FBI is storing your fingerprints. At least that's what I recall when I did my US license a couple years ago as a souvenir to take home to my country.

Since public transport isn't really that well developed in the US I guess people pretty much need a license to get around on their own. If nearly everyone over 16 has a license the government should have a pretty extensive fingerprint database already. Therefore nearly every print collected can be associated to a person already on file - regardless of what fake ID you used to register the phone.

If you ask me, it's a genius solution for any "to track & observe" related agency.
Click to expand...

Only a few states require a fingerprint for a drivers license (Texas being one of them). I'm surprised it isn't more to be honest - sounds like a great idea to me.
 
kis said:
So, I'm sure I'm not the only one here who doesn't feel comfortable using the upcoming iPhone 5S's fingerprint reader. What can be done to disable it? Disabling it in the settings won't cut it as your prints will like still be stored on the phone - they just won't be used for authentication purposes.

Some screen protectors (e.g. Spigen's Glas.Tr) come with a small plastic cap that you stick on top of the home button. Would that be enough to disable the reader?



ps: if you're intending to use the fingerprint reader, please ignore this thread. I'm not interested in your personal opinion why it's a good feature.
Click to expand...

Yeah. It is easy. Buy iPhone 5 or 5C.
 
Mike MA said:
Yep. Over here in Germany it's basically the same. A huge discussion emerged after the introduction of the fingerprint reader - even in the tech related news. One week ago the same media stated they would be very disappointed if it would only be a rumor and not being introduced :confused:
Click to expand...

lol yeah, pretty much the same here. At this point, smart phones are mature, it's hard to shake things up too much.

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Zerilos said:
As it turns out, the government already has my fingerprints, and I’m not even slightly concerned about it. Sure, if I leave my prints at a crime scene it might become an issue, but I don’t plan on doing that and I can’t think of anything else they’re good for.
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I would just wear gloves. :cool:
 
The amount of paranoia over this is just hilarious given there's so many easier ways to get someones fingerprint, especially since the iPhone isn't going to have the whole print anyway :roll eyes:

But why let common sense get in the way of FingerGate!
 
in4fun said:
This is for the US only and please correct me if I'm wrong:

Isn't everyone who applies for a drivers license required to have their fingerprints scanned and doesn't it say on the application form that you agree that the FBI is storing your fingerprints. At least that's what I recall when I did my US license a couple years ago as a souvenir to take home to my country.

Since public transport isn't really that well developed in the US I guess people pretty much need a license to get around on their own. If nearly everyone over 16 has a license the government should have a pretty extensive fingerprint database already. Therefore nearly every print collected can be associated to a person already on file - regardless of what fake ID you used to register the phone.

If you ask me, it's a genius solution for any "to track & observe" related agency.
Click to expand...

In CA they do take a fingerprint.
And now, thanks to the iPhone, they can track all those people in real-time.
No more having to go through the hassle of illegally planting a GPS in someone's car.
:p
 
flynnst0ne said:
Given the recent revelations of Apple's relationship with the NSA, and their subsequent denial of any wrong doing, it would be extremely ignorant for anyone to dismiss the fingerprint reader as 100% "safe".
Click to expand...

??? What relationship between Apple & the NSA??? From what's been leaked, there is no relationship between them. The NSA has been installing boxes that intercept the fiber lines and split off the data, at the telco's and internet providers, outside of Apple, Google, Msft, etc., and none of them have had any knowledge of it. And there's absolutely no reason to believe that's incorrect or they've been lying at all. Sounds like you haven't been keeping up with the news, or just read a few selective headlines.

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gr8tfly said:
It doesn't have an image of your fingerprint. Period. The data representing a highly detailed conductive map of the fingerprint (even features that don't show up in an image) are encrypted and stored in hardware cordoned off from the OS. The only way someone could practically reproduce your fingerprint, with this type of sensor, is if they had your finger.
Click to expand...

It doesn't even store an encrypted image. It stores a one-way hash... and it's impossible to go back from that to reproduce an image.
 
jbellanca said:
??? What relationship between Apple & the NSA??? From what's been leaked, there is no relationship between them. The NSA has been installing boxes that intercept the fiber lines and split off the data, at the telco's and internet providers, outside of Apple, Google, Msft, etc., and none of them have had any knowledge of it. And there's absolutely no reason to believe that's incorrect or they've been lying at all. Sounds like you haven't been keeping up with the news, or just read a few selective headlines.
Click to expand...

prism-slide-4_verge_super_wide.jpg


I'll leave this here....
http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/6/44...-apple-google-facebook-microsoft-others-prism
 
Seriously guys, people have their own opinion. Please refrain from mocking one another. If OP does indeed have his uneasiness about using the fingerprint scanner, so be it. The scanner is still clickable anyway.

BTW I think existing home button sticker should pretty much do the trick, although I don't really like jelly home button stickers for they look childish to me. If you can find one, I would recommand finding a plain stick on sticker.
 
You still have to push the home button then hold your finger on it to unlock the phone. Just as easy to push then swipe. One of my reasons for upgrading is gone.
 
kis said:
Because the fingerprint reader isn't actually disabled on the hardware level. It will still read your print every time you touch the button. What happens to the latter is unclear - Apple never said that the print won't get stored anyway. It wouldn't make sense to store prints during the authentication process (theoretically, at that time, they should only be checked against the print in the database) but it's still conceivable that the reader can be tricked into storing a print every time you unlock the device. I'm not saying that's necessarily happening - but I'm not going to take any chances here.

I perhaps should also point out that I'm not worried about the government getting my prints (they already have them - in Switzerland, they're needed to get a new passport and I've traveled to the US before). What I'm worried about is that some lowlives get ahold of them and sell them like stolen credit cards on the internet. There are all kinds of "funny" applications for stolen prints.
Click to expand...

i think its been established many times that theres no way for an outside source to get your fingerprints. For one, the actual fingerprint isn't even stored. in simple terms, the sensor picks up reference points and then everytime its scanned, random points are compared and something like that. There are articles on the web explaining this.

Also the data related to your fingerprint is stored on a separate portion of the A7 chip. Somebody would have to try REALLY REALLY hard to get your fingerprint, and i still don't even know if thats possible.

Thirdly, i'm not sure why people would go through all this trouble to get a fingerprint. There are far more easier ways to get your fingerprint if they really want it. Going through your trash would be the simplest and fastest way. Fingerprints are hardly private, so disabling it on the phone would not really protect you if someone was really after your fingerprint. Hell, if somebody steals your phone, they could just lift your fingerprints right off the screen.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/12/tech/mobile/iphone-fingerprint-privacy/index.html
 
Col Ronson said:
Thirdly, i'm not sure why people would go through all this trouble to get a fingerprint. There are far more easier ways to get your fingerprint if they really want it. Going through your trash would be the simplest and fastest way. Fingerprints are hardly private, so disabling it on the phone would not really protect you if someone was really after your fingerprint. Hell, if somebody steals your phone, they could just lift your fingerprints right off the screen.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/12/tech/mobile/iphone-fingerprint-privacy/index.html
Click to expand...

Bolded Statement- enough said. Apple already said its stored on a SEPARATE enclave in the A7 Chip. If someone really wants ur fingerprint they have to find a way to break open the A7 chip, find the 'enclave' and find some way to make it show the fingerprint data- which is too much of a trouble.
 
Robster3 said:
You still have to push the home button then hold your finger on it to unlock the phone. Just as easy to push then swipe. One of my reasons for upgrading is gone.
Click to expand...

Not really. Currently I use a simple 4 digit pass code ! I have it set to activate after an hour of non use because I hate putting it in all the time. I know it is not as secure to do that but it is more convenient.

Once I get the 5s I will use touch ID as my way of not having to enter a password and I will turn off simple pass code as my back up. My phone is about to get a lot more secure because of touch ID
 
Here it is, if you are intend NOT to use your fingerprint (Touch ID feature) From the beginning when you are asked to sign icloud and activate the phone there you skip the touchID and will be never set.

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Remember , if dont skip that step the scanned print will be put on the chip even if you disable it later on. i dont know if get erased if you do reset all data&settings of the phone
 
Knowimagination said:
Once I get the 5s I will use touch ID as my way of not having to enter a password and I will turn off simple pass code as my back up.
Click to expand...
It is my understanding, you cannot turn off simple pass code as a back up. It is automatically used after 48 hours of no use and at power on.
 
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