The US Government thinks Touch ID could make it easier for it to gain access to your iPhone; so, should you stop using it?

Touch ID is quick and convenient. I personally think that nothing to worry about since the unlock order is for individual case and is done in accordance with the law for forensic evidence.

When it works, touch ID is extremely fast and convenient. Also, I think that it's probably more secure than a passcode since stealing your finger print is above the skill level of most criminals. Most importantly, I have nothing to hide. If I was ever in a situation where authorities felt they needed to see my phone for any reason, I'd let them have at it. Who knows! Maybe my heroine's diary in GodVille will save the world someday. :P In all seriousness, though, I don't think this is anything to be worried about for average, law-abiding citizens.

I don't want to use touch Id for the iPhone 5S. I don't have it enabled anyway. All the government wants is malware! At least I think it is because they want to steal our finger prints. The government is supposed to protect us right? Not steal all our personal information. We have to protect our privacy.

As with many issues, there is a trade off between convenience and security. I find the Touch ID to be very convenient for unlocking, and making purchases with my phone.

I believe the finger print is in Apple's secure enclave, and is not able to be transmitted to some nefarious government agency.

I realize that in some countries, I can be compelled to open the phone with a fingerprint, yet cannot be compelled to provide a pass code. Simply turning off the phone, or respringing it will thwart the concerns about a forced Touch ID access.

I am comfortable with my decision to use Touch ID. I will revisit it should pertinent new information becomes available.

I love touch ID, and the touch ID is not stored on the device I think, apple have said it. so there's nothing to worry about.

before touch id, i set my phone to require passcode after 4 hours, which was not very safe at all.
you do need to understand how it works: password requirement kicks in if you fail to unlock your phone with your fingers five time in a row, so you may want to register an unlikely finger. forcing you to unlock your phone literally takes less than 2 seconds, if they know which finger to use. i don't buy the "nothing to hide" argument. i don't have anything incriminating in my bag, but i don't want anyone, including my close family members rummaging through it.

Yes, I would continue using touch ID. I mean, it is much faster and much more convenient. Though I think that the government is going a bit too far.

I have the fingerprint identification set on my iPhone, and use it to unlock the phone if it was previously unlocked using my numerical code. I also have Apple Pay set up. It is totally secure. Only I can access it. Fingerprints are unique, so nobody can steal my identity through my phone.

I hate these kinds of articles because people who don't yet have a smart phone and yes, there are some out there, read those and get totally scared by the idea. Having read the article I don't believe the government should force anyone to use a fingerprint to unlock someone's iPhone or anything else for that matter. What's next...people knocking on your door and demanding their way in because they think you might be doing something wrong? Where does it end? But having said all that, I maintain that these articles are dangerous. The iPhone has changed my life by allowing me to have independencethat I couldn't dream of just a few years ago. Touch ID is not only a convenient, but a secure solution for unlocking your phone and making purchases with Apple pay. I haven't used Apple pay very much but I do have it set up in case the opportunity presents itself. Please don't pay a single bit of attention to these kinds of articles. This kind of stuff the government is proposing to do could scare new users because they may believe nothing is safe. I think you're going to find that a vast majority of people use touch id and a passcode, and haven't had a single bit of information stolen from them.

I'm going to keep using TouchID because it's so quick and easy. I couldn't imagine going back to a slow, boring passcode.

It is interesting how such articles imply there is a right and a wrong approach to personal information and privacy.

I've heard people saying that governments are trying to steal, or otherwise obtain, personal information about us. Much less do I hear people saying that private, commercial companies are doing exatly the same thing, only much more effectively. Why is it OK to entrust your personal information to a profit-making organisation over whose activities you have no control whatsoever, when a government, who you have the opportunity to elect, wants to do the same for whatever reason?

In the modern age, I rarely hear people railing at the fact that "the authorities" can establish where you are and what you're doing at almost any time of the day or night, just by following you on CCTV. Why? Because most people find it unobtrusive, and it has been sold to them as a way to protect their property and personal safety. Yet that information could be just as misused by future governments as any personal data about you.

Why are we OK for the superstores to know what we are buying, when, and how much we're spending, and then to use that to interpret all kinds of other things about our personal lives, yet if the government were to try to do the same, there's an outcry? I've even heard complaints about personal privacy as a reason for health services not encoding personal medical records onto portable cards so that you can take your history with you no matter where you need your health care.

Basically, there doesn't appear to be a single, straightforward measure of what the population considers to be a valid use of our personal data. It's almost always varied according to what personal benefit we may or may not get from it.

If you currently trust your government to use your data responsibly, are you sure that every subsequent government will? If you are happy for Apple to securely hold and protect your data, are you certain that no future board will decide to misappropriate it?

Once your data is out of your hands, you have lost control of it. Think carefully, but think sensibly. Withhold all your personal details, and in the digital age, nobody will undertake any transactions with you whatsoever. The middle ground, as ever, will be the only option. Well informed compromise reinforced with statutory regulation seems to be the choice.

Personally, if the police ask to see what is on my phone, I'd probably show them. If they ask to take a copy of what's on my phone, I'll ask for a receipt and a statement of intent and an assurance it will be destroyed after a reasonable interval. If they (or a particular individual) seem to be behaving suspiciously, then I may choose to withhold it and take the consequences. I'll take personal responsibility for my actions. In other words, I won't take a fixed approach, but will make a judgement based on the information available at the time. What technology is involved is irrelevant to me.

Convenience wins for me, however I am very ready to re-evaluate my decision should circumstances change.

I agree with David's post. The NSA is probably sifting through every email, and text message we send and yet we are worried about the police getting into our phones? Facebook, Amazon, all online companies keep our information so that they can sell it to third parties, or trick us into buying more. So is this just picking a level of something that you can control? I agree 100% that a fingerprint should be as protected as a digital password but sadly it isn't. I have nothing to hide anyway.

one legal note. its not that the government can hack your phone using touchID, they can't. however, they can compel you to unlock your phone using touchID. they can not compel you to divulge a password. it goes back to the idea of self-incrimination. you can't give something you know, but you can give something biological that you are: such as a fingerprint, DNA, etc.
they have talked about this a lot on the <a href="http://twit.tv/sn">security now</a> podcast on the twit network. i encourage anyone who's interested to listen.

Great! This is just awesome right here. Why not just let us be secure and stop messing around with us. If they wanted my iPad Mini I'm not in for it. I am really strict when it comes to security, I never give anyone my information unless it is my e-mail on AppleVis and someone wants to contact me.
By the way, I was being sarcastic about the great part, this is really not awesome.

I think I'd have to agree with #9 on this one. I am a new iPhone user, but tbh I'm not scared in the least bit. I get why some people are all up in arms about this stuff. Personal information has been stolen from a lot of people, and that's not good at all. But I'm not one of those people, and I am in fact thinking of setting up Touch ID on my phone not only for the reason stated here. But there have been a few times during the brief period that I've played with my iPhone, where I couldn't get the passcode right the first or even second time. In addition, the on-screen keyboard has for whatever reason disappeared on me a few times. I think the failed log-in attempts that have happened to me are due to the iPhone sliding out of position on my desks. But my kitchen table has a rubber matt on it, so I'm going to try the phone on there and see what happens. This isn't to say that I've had problems each time I unlocked the phone or whatever. It has worked just right for me probably more times than not, but still I'm gonna try and set up touch ID.