After the iPhone 5S was released, Apple began to focus on the"Touch ID" feature. A recently released patent may show how the company plans to use the capability as a commerce and security tool.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released an Apple patent application for a "Finger Biometric Sensor Data Synchronization Via a Cloud Computing Device and Related Methods" and was first reported by Apple Insider. Supposedly, the plan is for the device to collect fingerprints (aka "Touch Ids"), store them online, then allow other devices to access the Touch IDs through the cloud.
The direction of this patent is a very interesting move, considering that one of the emphasized points when Apple released the iPhone 5S was how the Touch ID localized the data, thus making it inaccessible by outside accounts. If this plan goes through, then hackers would theoretically have access to your Touch ID.
Thankfully, the patent does list a few of the security options it would use to secure the data. These include authenticating that data on the iCloud before Apple stores it or having the second device wirelessly connect to the first in order to authorize and check whether the data is accurate. The second option would only require Apple to transfer data on a local level via something like NFC, localized WiFi or Bluetooth.
Apple Pay is included in all of this as well. The patent uses an Apple Pay-enabled terminal as one of its examples. This could be proof that users might be able to use Apple Pay without having their phones present, according to Techcrunch.
It's uncertain whether Apple will implement the tech mentioned in the patent or if it reflects anything about the eventual international release of Apple Pay. But if they do use it, we could see some very interesting app functions in Apple's future.
