BiometricAuthentication
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WhatsApp update lets you hide chats using Face ID and Touch ID
Instagram and Messenger could soon follow WhatsApp in introducing encrypted messaging as part of Facebook's plan to unify its app empire. In the meantime, WhatsApp is adding an extra layer of privacy on iOS with support for Touch ID and Face ID. The update (version 2.19.20) allows users to lock their messages behind their iPhone's biometric authentication features. You can switch it on by heading in to settings, selecting Account, Privacy and "enable Lock Screen." You'll then be able to set a time limit immediately, after a minute, 15 minutes or 1 hour.
Fujitsu dabbles in palm reading, hopes to bring biometric sensors to tablets
When you think about it, there's no reason that biometric recognition can't provide security on tablets -- well, aside from the need for a sensor thin enough to fit on a slate. Fujitsu has been on the job, making significant progress since showing off its clunky palm vein reader. The company's latest development on the biometric front is an authentication sensor that measures a minuscule 5mm thick, which is slight enough for use in tablets. Fujitsu employed its PalmSecure technology for reading users' palm vein patterns without requiring physical contact with the sensor. This super-thin module is still in the thick of research and development, but it's likely destined for your tablet someday down the line.
Fujitsu fingerprint / palm reader does large-scale biometric identification, won't tell fortunes
So it can't predict the future, but the latest biometric reader from Fujitsu can tell that you're one in a million -- quite literally. Looking something akin to the love child of Simon and a Polaroid camera, this as-of-yet unnamed device is apparently the "world's first biometric authentication technology that combines data on palm vein patterns with fingerprint data from three fingers." That's a mouthful, but Fujitsu says the combination of these two biometric authentication techniques allows for accurate identification of an individual in a pool of one million in just two seconds. What's more, it expects to up that capacity to groups of ten million by the end of 2011. For professional evildoers rocking three fingers and a palm, maybe now's a good time to start rethinking your career path. [Thanks, Pavel]
