FINGERPRINT PHONE LOCKING – IS IT A USERNAME OR A PASSWORD?

Our Supreme Court has recently decided that police will require a search warrant to search a cell phone that is password protected, since a password indicates the user expects privacy.  In this one case in Virginia the Judge decided that a fingerprint lock is a username and not a password.  To my knowledge this has not yet been a legal issue in Canada but now no doubt will be soon.  As this writer recommends: “don’t use your fingerprint to unlock it and turn on the option to erase the data on your phone after 10 failed unlock attempts.”

One Judge in Virginia Says Police Can Force You to Use Your Fingerprint to Unlock Your Phone — Lawyerist.

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