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Big-TDI-Guy

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jan 11, 2007
2,606
13
Please - someone make this, though I'm confident it already exists, and I'm just unable to find it by name. (yes, I did google, search forums, ect...)

**** Warning, Attention Deficit Disorder below. ****

I've always had a great idea for phone / laptop / other portable security - location based security.

We use phones for more and more - making the password protection feature of greater importance by the day. (my email is in it, for example) but at home, or other "safe" places - it's a royal PITA to unlock my phone every time. Yet in public, or at work - I want it locked the second I shut it off - every time.

A couple of methods: Use the "GPS" feature so when you're out of home, it locks immediately - but when it recognizes familiar locations - even done electronically - such as being in range of your cars bluetooth, or when it's in contact with your home wifi - it extends or disables the auto-lock time.

So when my phone is actively connected to my cars bluetooth receiver - it'll disable the password auto-lock - so I don't have to fidget with yet another thing in my car. But when the car is shut off - the bluetooth also shuts off - so the phone will see the network drop - and lock itself.

Same thing for home, when your home wifi is connected, the wireless device can stay open longer, or indefinitely (make a drop box to specify the timeout and response).

Even have a "bad network" scheme - so when you're somewhere unsafe (such as a Starbucks wifi) the phone will lock the second you shut it off.

Anyone else think this would rock, or am i the only one who screws up unlocking their iphone 10 times a day? :confused:
 
apple would have to implement this, a dev does not have sufficient access to make an app that can lock the entire phone

and for a mac, take a look at marco polo
 
The problem is that the iPhone doesn't know where it is at all times. Only when an app asks for its location does it figure it out.
And that would waste a lot of battery.
 
That's why networks and bluetooth would work - when the phone does not see a particular network (or rather, when it's no longer connected to network X) it changes the timeout / lockout period.

The GPS would add a layer to it - but overall - the Wifi / Bluetooth nets would get the job done.
 
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