Video of a Cat Unlocking the iPhone 5S with His Paw-print on the Touch ID Sensor

dgstorm · Sep 19, 2013

Your first reaction to the above headline may have you worried that the security of the new Touch ID sensor in the iPhone 5S is not very secure or accurate, but don't worry. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the video above demonstrating a cat using the Touch ID to unlock the new iPhone 5S is simply more proof that Apple got it right and their new tech is actually very powerful.

As it turns out, cats are one of the few animals which have distinct skin patterns (fingerprints) on their paws which can be picked up by sensors just like a human. Just for phone, the person who made this video thought it would be fun to program the Touch ID finger-print sensor in their new iPhone 5S with the paw-print of their cat. Here's a quote with a few more interesting tidbits,

The cats paw worked, and while it encountered more frequent failures than did a fingerprint, it was able to unlock the phone again repeatedly when positioned correctly on the sensor. Note that no other paw pads would unlock the device, and that cats essentially have unique fingerprints just like people, so this doesnt make the Touch ID sensor any less secure.

For the curious, I also tested the 5s fingerprint sensor on the heel of my palm, as well as on the inside of my forearm up around the wrist, and found that I could register and successfully unlock with both skin regions. Again, it was trickier to get the unlock to work consistently, and trying to fool the sensor by using the same part of the body on the opposing limb never worked.

Since the new iPhone 5S can store up to five Touch ID profiles, this means your pet cat can now have his own login for your iPhone! Now if we can only teach him/her how to order pizza for us...

Source: TechCrunch

Skull One · Sep 19, 2013

LOL!!!!!

That didn't take long for a cat. Dog nose has to be done next.

teisen17 · Sep 20, 2013

So much for top security! Hahah.

Skull One · Sep 20, 2013

teisen17 said:
So much for top security! Hahah.

Actually this has nothing to do with security. It just shows that the fingerprint scanner can handle a cats paw. Which technical does have a pretty unique print. If anything it really shows how well the scanner works.