New patent points to iPhone that knows when it's been stolen
Forget Touch ID, Apple has dreamed up a way for your iPhone to recognize who you are simply by how you use it. In a new patent titled "Generating Notifications Based On User Behavior," Apple describes a way for a mobile operating system to identify patterns in your usage, and could even be used to automatically lock down the device in the event that it is stolen.
The system stores a massive amount of data based on usage. Everything from the way you type to the accelerometer readings when you're using the device while walking can be used as a historical reference. If a user's patterns don't match that of the device's owner, the device can lock itself down to prevent usage or curb the risk of identity theft.
As with all Apple patents -- particularly the ones that sound ridiculously cool -- there's a great chance we'll never see this feature materialize in a retail device. That said, Apple seems to be all about personal user security these days, and such a feature would definitely be in line with that trend.
[via AppleInsider]
