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.

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