OK so what is the point/use for these things? I have one on my cheapo Chinese smart phone and apart from setting it up have never had an occasion to use it. So what is the point of it?
So you can unlock your phone without entering a code or pattern. It saves milliseconds at best, so yeah, it isn't really all that much use.
Nature of my work means my fingers are so often cut, burned or glued together it was always an unused feature for me... I don't even bother putting a lock on my phone nowadays, mostly because my missus would just assume i'm hiding something
I use the fingerprint scanner on my phone quite a bit, it's just convenient and reduces the amount of smudges that I'd get on my screen from either tapping a pin/swiping a pattern. It's not much less secure than the pattern option as you can often see the pattern people draw by the smudgy print fingers leave on the screen.
I like mine, it's as secure as it needs to be, and I probably unlock my phone 30 times a day. Even if it only saves a second a time that's three hours a year not typing in a PIN.
I use mine as the unlock function its just easier as the sensor is on the back of the phone right where you would put your finger. Does have other uses, so I can authenticate payments, open certain apps even an option to hide apps and assign them to certain fingers which is very weird. Maybe assign the little finger to a spying app or something...
Well, it absolutely is, but; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30623611 And a little bit of; http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/fingerprint-scanners-unbeatable/ makes finger/thumb prints terrible security ;P
As a person who uses tfl services I find it liberating to just walk about with just my phone. I can get about using it to pay for tube/bus/train, get something to eat, and get a beer at the end of the day. Thanks android pay!
Not really. It's bad security if someone is willing to go to those lengths to access your phone, but then so are a lot of things. A video from the right angle of you entering any sort of password/code on any mobile device will do the job, as will any number of other attacks against reasonably quick and simplistic security methods. It's a different ballgame if you consider yourself a target for people willing to use significant resources specifically against you. However, for most people a finger print scanner replaces a 4 digit pin or similar. Both of these are probably offer a similar amount of security, i.e. not complete but an adequate compromise vs ease/speed of use given the requirements. By the by, I far as I know the purely photographic method mentioned might work with some old devices but would fail with modern scanners/techniques.
I'll quite often go out without any cash now, which is a big change from how I've operated for the last decade. It's great to spend a night at the pub and not have to come home with £10 in loose change in my back pocket.
And what pray is tfl services? I see little point in using an expensive or in my case cheap phone to pay when a debit card will do just as well.
Transport for London, the tube, innit? I find my phone easier as it's always sat in my pocket, at the ready.
My new phone has one - but personally haven't set it up as I did'nt know it had one till this morning lol.