Apple has recently applied for a US patent to that will allow it to collect biometric information in case of unauthorised use. The patent is called “Biometric capture for unauthorised user identification” and was filed on August 25 by Apple. This patent will allow iPhones to document the fingerprints of a thief/unauthorised user, and take pictures/videos using the cameras as evidence.

The patent was first spotted by Apple Insider, and it says that if the feature is triggered through unauthorised use, the iPhone will obtain and store biometric information of the user. The information can be one or more fingerprints, images, audio, or even a video of the current user. The phone can then send the information to help capture the unauthorised user.

Currently, a user’s iPhone is protected against unauthorised use by going into a cool down period if the phone has had five failed attempts to unlock. A user can also set the phone to completely wipe the data in case of 10 failed unlock attempts. In case a phone is lost, it can be tracked using the ‘Find iPhone’ app and can also be remotely wiped clean.