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User privacy is an important issue for Apple and the company has previously gone to great lengths to prove this thing. With iOS 11, the Cupertino-based company has introduced a new feature that allows users to quickly disable Touch ID by simply tapping the power button five times, in situations where they can be physically forced to unlock their device using their fingerprint.
As pointed out in a report by The Verge, some users have discovered that when you quickly tap the power button five times on a device that is currently running iOS 11 public beta, the option to call emergency call numbers is presented as usual but the system automatically disables Touch ID as well. This means that the users are required to enter the passcode before they can start using Touch ID again. It’s being called a ‘cop button’, after cases where Michigan police 3D-printed a fingerprint to get access to a locked iPhone, The Verge notes.
For better perspective, the system used to earlier disable the Touch ID temporarily when an iOS device restarted or when you didn’t place the finger correctly on the device few times consecutively. You already have the option to disable the Touch ID entirely from the system settings but doing this can make things inconvenient for the user. The new feature ensures that the Touch ID is temporarily disabled only when user decides to disable it in emergency situations. As it requires five quick taps, it is highly unlikely that users can accidentally disable the Touch ID as well.
Apple has been heavily tipped to introduce 3D facial recognition feature in its upcoming iPhone models this year and if this turns out to be true, the new feature will provide users with additional privacy even if they are physically forced by someone to unlock the device.