iOS 11's new 'Cop Button' is a feature ALL phones need

From Digital Spy

All the Apple hype is building toward the release of a new, expensive, redesigned iPhone this autumn, but that's far from the only thing Apple is putting out. The latest version of the iPhone's operating system - iOS 11 - is also on the horizon, and currently in beta testing.

Those who have been messing around with it have uncovered a new, upcoming feature that will make iPhones everywhere safer and more secure: the option to quickly, quietly disable Touch ID.

In iOS 11, you'll be able to tap your power button quickly five times, which will do two things. It will open a window where you can quick-call 999, but it will also make it impossible to use Touch ID again until you enter your actual passcode:

Now, the importance of such a feature could differ depending on the situation or location. Certainly in the US, it's been nicknamed the 'Cop Button'.

This is because in the 2014 US Supreme Court case Riley v California, the court unanimously upheld a decision that the warrantless search and seizure of a mobile phone is "unconstitutional", but the degree to which someone who is arrested has to co-operate with police who have a warrant is a greyer area.

Rulings in the US on whether refusing to give up your password is protected by the Fifth Amendment have varied, but federal courts have allowed law enforcement to force fingerprint unlocks by arguing it is more similar to handing over a key than it is to giving testimony. And should the American police try to gain access to a person's password without a warrant, it's much easier to simply shut up than it is to try to deny access to your hand.

So while fingerprint unlocking is extremely convenient and a crucial bit of security in everyday life, it's actually far inferior at protecting private information from the police. Or airport security.

And that's of crucial importance because as Justice Roberts aptly put it in Riley v. California:

This small but useful privacy feature will benefit the owners of any iPhone with Touch ID, but it's unclear how it might manifest on phones going forward. The much-leaked, expensive, redesigned iPhone coming this fall does not have a Home Button.

We've yet to find out whether it has a fingerprint sensor on the rear side, like most Android phones do, or will skip the feature entirely in favour of some sort of infrared facial recognition. Reading fingerprints through the screen, while possible, is unlikely for a few more years.

Regardless, it's a nice update to see from the privacy-minded company that went to such great lengths to fight the FBI in an extended, public battle about the importance of encryption. Any phone that has a fingerprint reader should have an analogous feature as well.

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