With the rapid progression of technological advancements, it is no surprise that the long-imagined dream of Touch-ID has reached the realms of reality: Apple has incorporated the feature into its newly released iPhone 5S.

What is Touch ID?

The fingerprint scanner enables iPhone users to unlock their phones and make purchases by simply touching a fingertip to the home button. It reads up to ten different fingerprints of the user’s choosing and acts as part of the iPhone’s security system.

How secure is it?

The chances that Touch ID will misread a fingerprint are as low as 1 in 50,000 according to Apple. This compares to the 1 in 10,000 misreading possibilities of the four-digit passcode used by other iPhone models. However, Apple still requires the setup of a four-digit password in case of a Touch ID malfunction.

Yes, within the technology exists a way to beat the system, but the chances of falling victim to hack-by-latex-copy-of-a-person’s-finger are slim to none in the life of the average iPhone user. In order to defeat Touch ID, one would need to photograph the fingerprint at 2400 DPI (dots per inch), invert and laser print the photograph at 2100 DPI onto a transparent sheet, smear pink latex milk into the print, allow it to cure, lift a sliver of latex from the sheet, and blow on the print to give it the moisture of a human fingerprint- I wouldn’t worry.

All in all, Apple has successfully transformed a lofty technological dream into actuality. Touch ID will likely increase in popularity, and sow the seeds for growth in various everyday security systems.