MacRumors

Police in Michigan are reportedly attempting to use a 3D model of a fingerprint to unlock a murder victim's phone and reveal clues that could help solve an open case.

Fusion reports that the investigation is still ongoing, therefore details remain murky, but essentially instead of requesting that the phone manufacturer unlocks the murder victim's handset, officers have asked computer scientists at Michigan State University to create a 3D printed replica of the victim's fingers so they can do it themselves.

The victim's body was apparently too decayed for a fingerprint to be directly applied to the phone, but the police already had a scan of the victim's prints from when the man was arrested in a previous case.

Most fingerprint readers like Apple's Touch ID are capacitive, meaning they use electric circuits that close when human skin comes into contact with them, which generates the image of the print.

However, a 3D printed finger doesn't possess the conductivity that human skin does. So, to circumvent the problem, engineers coated the printed fingers in a thin layer of metallic particles so that the fingerprint scanner can read them.

Currently it's unclear whether the method works, as the designers haven't yet delivered the printed fingers to the police to attempt to unlock the victim's phone.

Another potential stumbling block is that if the phone in question is an iPhone, then police may come up against a passcode screen, since newer Apple handsets request a passcode if the fingerprint unlock hasn't been used within eight hours and the code hasn't been entered in six days.

But if the technology is a success, then theoretically the authorities could use it on cases involving living suspects by applying for a court order.

Fusion notes that the courts draw a distinction between a fingerprint password and a memorized one. "Courts generally draw a line between the 'contents of the mind' (which is protected) and 'tangible' bodily evidence like blood, DNA, and fingerprints (which is not)," said Bryan Choi, a security, law and technology researcher.

So while a memorized password might be protected by the Fifth Amendment which protects against self-incrimination, a fingerprint isn't. Indeed, in 2014, a court in Virginia ruled that a suspect can be required to unlock their phone using their fingerprint.

Therefore if a suspect is at large but the police have their phone in hand and their fingerprints on record, there's nothing to say that the method could be used to unlock the device in the owner's absence.

Choi argues that in this day and age, phones should be considered extensions of the mind and therefore protected under the Fifth Amendment and not just the Fourth Amendment (protection against illegal search and seizure).

"We offload so many of our personal thoughts, moments, tics, and habits to our cellphones," Choi told Fusion. "Having those contents aired in court feels like having your innermost thoughts extracted and spilled unwillingly in public."

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has helped to design an iPhone 6 case that detects if a handset is transmitting data when it's in Airplane Mode.

The project was announced yesterday by design collaborator and American hacker Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, the founder of Bunnie Studios and best known for being the first person to hack the Xbox and for legally challenging the DCMA act.

The concept for the case is described in a paper titled Against the Law: Countering Lawful Abuses of Digital Surveillance, which explains that the design is to protect journalists, activists, and rights workers from being tracked by governments.

The case features probe wires that access the phone's antennae through the SIM slot to monitor signal transmission, while audible alarms and a display on the outside of the case inform users of their phone's status.

Snowden and Huang write that using Airplane Mode is "no defense" against radio transmission, which makes such a case necessary:

For example, on iPhones since iOS 8.2, GPS is active in airplane mode. Furthermore, airplane mode is a "soft switch" – the graphics on the screen have no essential correlation with the hardware state. Malware packages, peddled by hackers at a price accessible by private individuals, can activate radios without any indication from the user interface; trusting a phone that has been hacked to go into Airplane Mode is like trusting a drunk person to judge if they are sober enough to drive.

The paper cites the case of American reporter Marie Colvin, who is reputed to have been tracked by the Assad regime in Syria and killed for covering stories about civilian casualties.

According to a lawsuit filed by Colvin's family this year, the Sunday Times journalist's location was discovered in part through the use of intercept devices that monitored satellite-dish and cellphone communications.

You can find out more about the project by reading the white paper at Pubpub.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Pokémon Go finally launched in Japan this morning after the game's release was delayed following an email leak about the developer's sponsored retail partnerships.

Social media excitement reached a peak on Niantic's announcement that it was "finally broadcasting" in the game's birthplace, over two weeks after it was released in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Pokémon Go is now available in over 30 countries.

The McDonalds sponsorship deal leaked earlier this week is expected to usher in a flurry of business at fast food restaurants around the country as players queue up to capture monsters and train characters at official "gyms".

Wary of the game's popularity, McDonalds has warned players "not to become a bother to customers who are eating", while Japanese authorities have issued safety guidelines in cartoon form for young Pokémon Go players.

The country's National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity called on users to bring spare batteries with their smartphones to prepare for emergency communications and to refrain from using their phones while walking.

In the U.S., Pokémon Go had 21 million active users less than two weeks after the game was launched. According to brokerage Needham & Co, Apple is set to make $3 billion in revenue from the game's in-app purchases in the next one or two years.

Pokémon Go's ratio of paid users to total users is said to be 10 times that of Candy Crush, which generated over $1 billion of revenue in both 2013 and 2014. Apple's shares have gained 5 percent market value – about $25 billion – since the launch of Pokémon Go on July 6.

Apple has created 14 country specific Apple Watch woven nylon bands for the 2016 Olympics. The bands, which were first spotted by GQ, are designed to reflect the national flags of 14 of the major competitors at the games.

The countries included are the U.S., Great Britain, the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan, Jamaica, Canada, China, Brazil, Australia, Germany, and France. The bands are only available at the VillageMall Apple Store in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The bands are $49 each.

One of the first Olympic athletes to acquire one of the bands is Team USA sprinter Trayvon Bromell, who posted a picture of his band on Twitter.

Apple has created special bands in the past, most recently debuting rainbow woven nylon bands for the Pride festival in late June.

Verizon Wireless will begin disconnecting its grandfathered unlimited data customers from its network if they use more than 100 GB of data a month and don't switch to one of the company's new wireless plans, according to a report from Droid Life. Verizon partially confirmed the news to Ars Technica.

"Because our network is a shared resource and we need to ensure all customers have a great mobile experience with Verizon, we are notifying a very small group of customers on unlimited plans who use an extraordinary amount of data that they must move to one of the new Verizon Plans by August 31, 2016," a Verizon spokesperson told Ars. "These users are using data amounts well in excess of our largest plan size (100GB). While the Verizon Plan at 100GB is designed to be shared across multiple users, each line receiving notification to move to the new Verizon Plan is using well in excess of that on a single device."

Verizon didn't confirm what would happen to customers who did not migrate to the new plans by August 31, but Droid Life reported they would have their access to the network cut off. Customers would be able to reinstate their accounts if they switch to a new plan within 50 days.

Last October, Verizon raised the price of its grandfathered unlimited data plan from $30 to $50 per month. Verizon's largest limited data plan is a 100 GB option that costs $450 a month. More recently, the company debuted a revamped version of its plans, adding features like Carryover Data and Safety Mode, which allows users to avoid overage fees and opt for throttled data speeds instead. The new plans start at $35 per month for 2 GB of data. The company also recently debuted a $20 fee when upgrading a device.

BBC today released its iPlayer Radio app stateside, so American users on both iOS and Android can now tune in to BBC radio stations airing content from the United Kingdom (via TechCrunch). The iOS app launched in its native territory in 2012, with today marking the first time the company has expanded its app-based radio content to users outside of the U.K.

The iPlayer Radio app supports offline listening for BBC podcasts, curated selections of radio highlights for each user, and a daily schedule that makes sifting through the service's content quick and easy. The app can even serve as an alarm clock to wake users up to a specific radio show, and conversely allow them to fall asleep without the worry of the app playing all night with "night mode."

- Listen live to BBC Radio stations from the World Service and across the UK
- Catch up or listen again to your favourite BBC Radio programmes
- Download podcasts to enjoy anywhere, even when offline
- Browse and listen to carefully curated BBC Radio highlights and collections
- View daily schedules and categories quickly and easily
- Discover audio and video clips, including many live performances
- See what tracks are playing on air as well as track lists for on demand programmes
- Wake up to and doze off to BBC Radio with a built-in alarm clock and night mode

Those interested can download the BBC iPlayer Radio app for free from the iOS App Store today. [Direct Link]

T-Mobile has announced that qualifying Simple Choice postpaid customers will automatically receive free unlimited data at up to 4G LTE speeds throughout Brazil during the entire month of August, enabling visitors to celebrate the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro without worrying about roaming charges.

The carrier is also offering free calls within Brazil and to the United States in August, while unlimited texting to over 140 countries continues to be free.

Additionally, T-Mobile will be giving families of U.S. athletes free T-Mobile service and a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Samsung Gear 360 camera through October. Those who qualify can email RoamFreeInRio@t-mobile.com to get up to two free smartphones per athlete activated ahead of the 2016 Rio Games.

This is the third major T-Mobile promotion to be announced in less than a month, following free unlimited data throughout Europe this summer and free unlimited data for Pokémon Go for one year. Meanwhile, T-Mobile continues to offer perks such as Binge On and Music Freedom, Data Stash, Carrier Freedom, and Mobile Without Borders.

Final Fantasy creator Square Enix has launched a teaser website for a game made exclusively for the Apple Watch, called Cosmos Rings (via CNET). The website calls the game an "RPG for Apple Watch," but leaves any other details about its mechanics, story, and launch date completely up in the air.

The sole teaser image for the game shows a screenshot of gameplay, with some kind of time dilation counter at the bottom left of the screen, along with a marker at the top left reminding players of the number of presumably in-game days that have passed while playing. Otherwise, the image doesn't show much of what might be coming to the Apple Watch app.

The games market on Apple's wearable device has plenty of room for creators to make a noticeable impression, since most users have yet to find any kind of killer app -- even a non-gaming one -- since the Apple Watch launched last year. A few gaming apps have managed to surge in popularity, focusing on mechanics that encourage short play styles, with incentive to revisit often, which may hint at Cosmos Rings' potential gameplay.

Check out Square Enix's website for yourself to see if you can discover any more clues behind Cosmos Rings.

Update 7/29: Cosmos Rings is now available to download in the App Store for $5.99 [Direct Link] until August 31, after which it will rise to a normal price of $8.99.

Desktop email client Polymail recently launched a new iOS version of its app, focusing on simple and intuitive ways to get users through massive email lists with the same connected and social-minded aspects of the desktop app. Polymail allows users to manage their Gmail, iCloud, and Outlook, through the iOS app, which now syncs automatically with the Mac app as well.

One of the standout features of Polymail is its social networking angle, which has each user create a "Contact Profile" detailing their employer, location, and a brief customizable bio section. These cards show every interaction you have had with any particular person, letting you browse among email correspondence and attachments shared between one another, and even detailing when they read an email, and how many times, similar in style to Apple's Read Receipts.

“Email usage is moving more and more towards mobile but these productivity features have typically only been available on desktop,” says Brandon Foo, co-founder of Polymail. “We want to give users the best set of tools for mobile across any email provider.”

In addition to contact profiles and email tracking, the app also provides features like read later, send later, and follow-up reminders, which the company points out as being mostly browser add-ons in the past, placing Polymail as the first major mobile and desktop app to embrace them. The service even allows users to un-send emails "within several seconds" after they're sent, making it easy to fix grammar and spelling errors that are recognized in the time window.

Following its debut on the Mac App Store, a few users compared Polymail to Dropbox's now-defunct Mailbox client, which has generated some positive word-of-mouth leading up to its release on iOS. Still, its email tracking abilities and robust permissions list have raised a few flags for some users. Although not speaking on the topic of security and privacy specifically, Polymail reiterated that its ultimate goal is in making "enterprise workflow as effortless as possible," aiming to lessen the gap between email clients "and the rest of the business applications companies use."

Those interested can try out Polymail for themselves by downloading the free app on the App Store today. [Direct Link] The company mentioned that a higher-tier "Polymail Pro" subscription model is gearing up to launch sometime soon, but gave no details on its price point or premium features.

Update: This article originally stated IMAP accounts are supported, as indicated on Polymail's website. IMAP support is, however, not yet available.

Yesterday on Facebook, the company's dedicated messaging app, Facebook Messenger, posted news regarding its recent milestone of surpassing 1 billion monthly active users. As The Next Web pointed out, that's a growth of 200 million users since January, and roughly suggests that 1 out of every 7 members of the population are logging onto Facebook Messenger each month to text with friends and family.

In the message thanking users, the Facebook Messenger team mentioned that the company will be celebrating by debuting the launch of new animated balloons into the chat app. Anyone can try it out by sending someone a traditional balloon emoji within Facebook Messenger to activate the new animation.

On behalf of the entire Messenger team, we'd like to thank the more than 1 billion people who are now using Messenger every month. People use Messenger to connect with the people and businesses they care most about. They make plans, share dreams, send payments, tell jokes, play games, let their loved ones know they're thinking of them and much, much more. We know that every message is important to you - no matter what you want to say - and we're grateful that you choose to communicate using Messenger.

To put its growing popularity into perspective, Facebook also released some stats related to its messaging service. According to the company, 22 million GIFs are sent every day (approximately 254 per second), and popular holidays saw a noticable uptick in user messaging, with 300 million flowers sent on Mother's Day and 360 valentine-related chats sent on February 14. Among a growing, robust list of sticker packs, the app's most popular remains related to the Angry Birds franchise.

A few of Facebook Messenger's well-received features -- like sticker packs, money payments, and easily-shareable GIFs -- will be making their debut in the new iOS 10 Messages app this fall. With the new SDK debuting in the software update, developers will be allowed to create app extensions that allow users to interact with third-party apps directly within Messages. Apple itself has also announced a few new features coming to its chat app, like new bubble effects, handwritten messages, and fullscreen animated backgrounds, similar to Facebook's balloon easter egg commemorating 1 billion users.