Patent Publication Number: US-2018041506-A1

Title: Biometric Capture for Unauthorized User Identification

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/143,446, filed Apr. 29, 2016, and titled “Biometric Capture for Unauthorized User Identification, which is a continuation-in-part patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/802,558, filed Mar. 13, 2013, and titled “Biometric Capture for Unauthorized User Identification,” now abandoned, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/666,739, filed Jun. 29, 2012, and titled “Biometric Capture for Unauthorized User Identification,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to identification of unauthorized users of computing devices, and more specifically to capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Computing devices (such as smart phones, laptop computers, desktop computers, server computers, mobile computers, tablet computers, digital music players, digital video players, and other such computing devices) may perform a variety of different functions for one or more authorized users. However, various users may attempt to utilize computing devices without authorization. For example, a user&#39;s smart phone may be stolen and the thief may attempt to utilize the stolen smart phone. By way of another example, a user&#39;s child may obtain access to the user&#39;s tablet computer and attempt to utilize the tablet computer without permission from the user. 
     In various cases, such computing devices may be protected from unauthorized use by one or more authentication systems. For example, a user may be required to provide one or more passwords, pin (personal identification number) codes, and/or biometric information (such as one or more fingerprints) in order to utilize the computing device. Such authentication systems may prevent the computing device from being used should unauthorized users obtain access to the computing device. 
     However, preventing access by unauthorized users to a computing device may not be sufficient in all cases. For example, some authentication systems may be overcome with sufficient effort and may not be able to prevent access by unauthorized users forever. Users of computing devices may desire to be able to identify one or more unauthorized users who have attempted to utilize the user&#39;s computing device. Such identification of unauthorized users who have attempted to utilize a computing device may assist a user in prosecuting unauthorized users, preventing further access in situations where the computing device has not been stolen, recovering the computing device in situations where the computing device has been stolen, and so on. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure discloses systems and methods for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. A computing device may determine to capture biometric information in response to the occurrence of one or more trigger conditions. The trigger condition may be receipt of one or more instructions from one or more other computing devices, detection of potential unauthorized use by the computing device, normal operation of the computing device, and so on. The computing device may obtain biometric information and may store such biometric information. Such biometric information may be one or more fingerprints, one or more images of a current user of the computing device, video of the current user, audio of the environment of the computing device, forensic interface use information, and so on. The computing device may then provide the stored biometric information for identification of one or more unauthorized users. 
     In various implementations, the computing device may transmit the stored biometric information to one or more server computers and/or to one or more user communication addresses (such as one or more electronic mail addresses, phone numbers, and such) associated with an authorized user of the computing device. Such transmission may be automatic, performed upon receipt of one or more transmit requests, and so on. In other cases, the computing device may store the biometric information without transmitting such. 
     In one or more implementations, the computing device (and/or another computing device to which the computing device has transmitted the biometric information) may not endlessly store the biometric information. In some cases, biometric information may be purged over time according to one or more purging rules. In such cases, biometric information captured in association with a certain number of unauthorized access attempts (such as fifty), biometric information captured over a certain period of time (such as three days), biometric information associated with all unauthorized access attempts over a certain period of time (such as one month), and so on may be stored. Previously captured biometric information may be purged in such cases. 
     In some implementations, the computing device (and/or another computing device to which the computing device has transmitted the biometric information) may evaluate the biometric information to attempt to identify the unauthorized user associated with the biometric information and/or ascertain activities that the unauthorized user attempted to perform. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are for purposes of example and explanation and do not necessarily limit the present disclosure. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate subject matter of the disclosure. Together, the descriptions and the drawings serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a system that captures biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a first example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a second example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating a third example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart illustrating a fourth example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart illustrating a fifth example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating a sixth example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating a seventh example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart illustrating a eighth example method for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram illustrating a touch I/O device that can receive touch input for interacting with a computer system. The computer system may perform the method of  FIGS. 2-9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a block diagram illustrating computer system that includes a touch I/O device that can receive touch input for interacting with the computer system. The computer system may perform the methods of  FIGS. 2-9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The description that follows includes sample systems, methods, and computer program products that embody various elements of the present disclosure. Embodiments described herein may be configured to operate with a variety of sensors, including strip or swipe sensors, array or other two-dimensional sensors, and the like. However, it should be understood that the described disclosure may be practiced in a variety of forms in addition to those described herein. 
     The present disclosure discloses systems and methods for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. A computing device may determine to capture biometric information in response to the occurrence of one or more trigger conditions. The computing device may obtain biometric information and may store such biometric information. The biometric information may be stored in an encrypted and/or otherwise hidden form. The computing device may then provide the stored biometric information for identification of one or more unauthorized users. In this way, unauthorized users of computing devices may be reliably tracked and/or identified. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a system  100  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The system includes a computing device  101 , which may be any kind of computing device such as a smart phone, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a tablet computer, a digital music player, a digital video player, and/or other such computing device. The computing device may determine to capture biometric information in response to the occurrence of one or more trigger conditions, obtain biometric information, and store such biometric information. The computing device may provide the stored biometric information for identification of one or more unauthorized users. The system may also include one or more server computing devices  102  (such as one or more server computing devices configured in a cloud computing arrangement) and/or one or more client computing devices  103  that may be configured to communicate with each other and/or with the computing device. 
     In some implementations, the trigger condition may be receipt of one or more instructions from one or more other computing devices (such as the server computing device  102  and/or or the client computing device  103 ) to capture biometric information. For example, one or more server computers that communicate with the computing device  101  may transmit such an instruction to the computing device in response to a request received from the user of the computing device (though in some cases the instruction may be transmitted to the computing device from another computing device utilized by the user such as the client computing device without the involvement of a server computing device), in response to detection of potential unauthorized use of the computing device by the server computing device, and so on. In other implementations, the trigger condition may be detection of potential unauthorized use by the computing device. For example, if the computing device receives more than a threshold number of failed authentication attempts (such as five), the computing device may begin capturing biometric information as the computing device receives such from one or more biometric sensors. In still other implementations, the trigger condition may be operation of the computing device. In such implementations the trigger condition is met whenever the computing device operates and the computing device will always capture received biometric information during operation (though in some cases the amount and/or type of biometric information that is captured, the frequency at which the biometric information is captured, what the computing device does with captured biometric information, and such may be escalated upon the occurrence of one or more other trigger conditions such as receipt of an instruction to escalate biometric capture and/or detection of potential unauthorized use). 
     By way of example, in one or more implementations, if the computing device  101  receives a failed authentication, the computing device may immediately capture a fingerprint of the current user of the computing device (i.e., the user that provided the failed authentication) and capture a picture of the current user of the computing device. The computing device may store the fingerprint and picture and may transmit the fingerprint and picture to a central server that tracks potential unauthorized usage of the computing device. 
     In various implementations, the computing device  101  may capture one or more of a variety of different types of biometric information that the computing device receives from one or more biometric related sensors associated with the computing device. For example, the computing device may obtain one or more fingerprints from one or more fingerprint sensors, user images (and/or video of a user) utilizing one or more image capture devices (such as one or more cameras), audio from the environment in which the computing device is being used utilizing one or more audio capture devices (such as one or more microphones), forensic interface use information (such as the speed, pressure, and such at which elements of a user interface are utilized, which may be unique or highly personalized to particular users), and so on. 
     Further, other information in addition to the biometric information may also be captured and/or associated with the biometric information. In some cases, the computing device  101  may time stamp the received biometric information so that it may be determined at exactly what time a particular user was utilizing the computing device. In various cases, the computing device may include one or more location sensors, such as one or more global positioning system sensors, and the computing device may associate navigation information with the biometric information so that the location of the computing device at the time a particular user attempted to utilize the computing device (or just the location of the computing device) may be determined. 
     In one or more implementations, the computing device  101  may provide the stored biometric information in a variety of different ways. In some cases, the computing device may transmit the stored biometric information to one or more server computers (such as the server computing device  102 ) (which may store the transmitted biometric information) and/or to one or more user communication addresses (such as one or more electronic mail addresses, phone numbers, and such) associated with an authorized user of the computing device (which the authorized user may access via the client computing device  103 ). Such transmission may be automatic, performed upon receipt of one or more transmit requests, and so on. In other cases, the computing device may store the biometric information without transmitting such. In situations where the computing device has been stolen and is then recovered, the stored information may be obtained from the storage of the computing device in order to identify who had stolen the recovered computing device. 
     In various implementations, the computing device  101  may be configured to evaluate various factors such as the trigger conditions that trigger capture of biometric information, the frequency at which the biometric information is captured, what the computing device does with captured biometric information, and so on based at least on one or more defaults, security policies, enterprise network policies, user preferences, and/or other such settings. In some cases, the computing device may adjust the basis for evaluation of such factors according to one or more machine learning processes. For example, the computing device may be configured to capture fingerprints whenever an application is accessed for the first time. If the application is successfully accessed without authentication failure for a particular number of times (such as three), the computing device may cease capturing fingerprints. In such a case, the computing device may resume capturing fingerprints when the application is accessed if a certain number of authentication failures associated with the application are received (such as four). 
     In one or more implementations, the computing device  101  (and/or another computing device to which the computing device has transmitted the biometric information such as the server computing device  102  and/or the client computing device  103 ) may not endlessly store the biometric information. In some cases, biometric information may be purged over time according to one or more purging rules. In such cases, biometric information captured in association with a certain number of unauthorized access attempts (such as fifty), biometric information captured over a certain period of time (such as three days), biometric information associated with all unauthorized access attempts over a certain period of time (such as one month), and so on may be stored. Previously captured biometric information may be purged in such cases. 
     In such implementations, purging of previously stored biometric information may be performed in order to reduce storage requirements. However, such purging may also be performed under the assumption that if the stored biometric information is not needed by a certain point in time then it may not be needed at all and no longer needs to be stored. In still other cases, the biometric information may not be a complete set of biometric information. In such cases, the biometric information that is stored may correspond to a complete set of biometric information and the previous biometric information that is purged may correspond to a different complete set of biometric information. 
     For example, the computing device  101  may only capture and store a portion of a fingerprint at a time. Over a particular number of captures (such as fifteen captures), the computing device may capture a complete fingerprint. As such, the computing device (and/or another computing device such as the server computing device  102  and/or the client computing device  103 ) may continue to store the fifteen captures associated with a particular fingerprint in order to store the complete fingerprint and may purge previous captures that correspond to a different fingerprint. 
     In some implementations, the computing device  101  (and/or another computing device to which the computing device has transmitted the biometric information such as the server computing device  102  and/or the client computing device  103 ) may evaluate the biometric information to attempt to identify the unauthorized user associated with the biometric information and/or ascertain activities that the unauthorized user attempted to perform. For example, a captured fingerprint may be compared to a database containing fingerprints of known users (such as fingerprints of all users of a cellular service network that have been captured by the cellular service network). By way of another example, a number of captured keystrokes entered by an unauthorized user may be grouped and analyzed to determine one or more operations that the unauthorized user was attempting to perform utilizing the computing device (such as access a digital music purchasing account accessible from the computing device). 
     By way of a first example implementation, the computing device  101  may be a smart phone. The smart phone may include one or more buttons and/or other input sensors (such as one or more “home” buttons) and may include a fingerprint sensor located under one or more of the buttons. In some cases, the smart phone may be configured to capture a fingerprint utilizing the fingerprint sensor whenever the button is pressed by a current user (and/or upon the occurrence of a triggering condition). The smart phone may perform such fingerprint capture with the current user&#39;s knowledge (such as by displaying one or more prompts and/or notification) or may perform such fingerprint capture in the background without in any way making the user aware that such fingerprint capture is being performed. Upon the occurrence of a triggering condition, such as receipt of an instruction from a server computer associated with a cellular or data service account corresponding to the smart phone (which may be transmitted in response to an authorized user of the smart phone notifying the server that the smart phone has been stolen), the smart phone may capture and store such a fingerprint and may transmit the captured fingerprint to a cloud data storage service performed by the server associated with the cellular or data service account corresponding to the smart phone. In addition to the fingerprint, the smart phone may also capture and transmit other biometric information (such as utilizing one or more cameras to capture and transmit an image of the current user) to the cloud data storage service. The authorized user of the smart phone may then obtain the fingerprint (and/or other biometric information) from the cloud data storage service utilizing a client computing device (which may or may not be the smart phone). 
     By way of a second example implementation, the computing device  101  may be a tablet computer. The tablet computer may include one or more touch screens and may include a fingerprint sensor located under the touch screen. In some cases, the tablet computer may be configured to utilize a fingerprint of the current user captured via the fingerprint sensor as a means for authorizing the current user (such as by comparing the current user&#39;s fingerprint to a stored encrypted version of an authorized fingerprint). Upon the occurrence of a triggering condition, such a failed authorization attempt (i.e., the current user&#39;s fingerprint does not match the stored authorized fingerprint), the tablet computer may capture and store the current user&#39;s fingerprint and may transmit the captured fingerprint to a cloud data storage service performed by a server associated with a data service account corresponding to the tablet computer. The authorized user of the tablet computer may then obtain the fingerprint (and/or other biometric information) from the cloud data storage service utilizing a client computing device (which may or may not be the tablet computer). 
     Various example methods for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users will now be described in detail. Such methods may be performed by the system  100  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a first example method  200  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method may be performed by the computing device  101  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  201  and proceeds to block  202  where the computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  203  where the computing device determines whether or not an instruction has been received (such as from a computing device such as the server computing device  102  and/or the client computing device  103 ) to capture biometric information. If so, the flow proceeds to block  204 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  202  and the computing device continues to operate 
     At block  204 , after the computing device has received the instruction to capture biometric information, the computing device continues to operate and the flow proceeds to block  205 . At block  205 , the computing device determines whether or not biometric information has been received from one or more users (such as via one or more biometric sensors). If so, the flow proceeds to block  206 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  204  and the computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  206 , after the computing device has received biometric information, the computing device stores the received biometric information. The flow then proceeds to block  207 . 
     At block  207 , the computing device transmits the stored biometric information, such as to a computing device such as the server computing device  102  and/or the client computing device  103 . The flow then returns to block  204  where the computing device continues to operate. 
     Although the method  200  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  200  is illustrated and described above as transmitting biometric information whenever captured. However, in some cases the computing device may store biometric information whenever received after receipt of an instruction to capture but may only periodically transmit such information, such as upon the expiration of a time period (such as an hour), whenever a certain amount of biometric information is stored (such as five hundred kilobytes), and so on. In such cases, such periodic transmission may include all biometric information stored since the previous transmission. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a second example method  300  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method  300  may be performed by the server computing device  102  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  301  and proceeds to block  302  where the server computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  303  where the server computing device determines whether or not a request is received from a user (such as from the client computing device  103 ) for a computing device (such as the computing device  101 ) to capture biometric information. If so, the flow proceeds to block  304 . Otherwise, the flow returned to block  302  and the server computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  304 , the server computing device transmits an instruction to the appropriate computing device instructing the computing device to capture biometric information. The flow then proceeds to block  305  where the server computing device continues to operate before the flow proceeds to block  306 . 
     At block  306 , the server computing device determines whether or not captured biometric information is received from the instructed computing device. If so, the flow proceeds to block  307 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  305  where the computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  307 , after the server computing device determines that captured biometric information is received from the instructed computing device, the server computing device stores the received biometric information. The flow then proceeds to block  308  where the server computing device determines whether or not to provide such stored biometric information to the requesting user. Such a determination may be based on whether the user has requested stored biometric information, whether a threshold amount of biometric information has been stored (such as a complete fingerprint), and/or other such factors. 
     If the server computing device determines to provide such stored biometric information to the requesting user, the flow proceeds to block  309  where the server computing device provides the stored biometric information to the requesting user (such as by transmitting the stored biometric information to the client computing device  103 ) before the flow returns to block  305  and the server computing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow returns directly to block  305 . 
     Although the method  300  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  300  is illustrated and described above as just providing stored biometric information. However, in some cases the server computing device may also evaluate the biometric information (such as comparing a stored fingerprint to a database of user fingerprints to ascertain the identity of the user to whom the fingerprint belongs) and provide information regarding such analysis along with or instead of the stored biometric information. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a third example method  400  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method  400  may be performed by the client computing device  103  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  401  and proceeds to block  402  where the client computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  403  where the client computing device determines whether or not a request is received from a user for a computing device (such as the computing device  101 ) to capture biometric information. If so, the flow proceeds to block  404 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  402  where the client computing device continues to operate. 
     For example, the client computing device may execute instructions stored in a non-transitory machine-readable medium to implement a “find my computing device” web application. The user may utilize such a web application to request that the user&#39;s computing device capture biometric information. 
     At block  404 , after the client computing device determines a request is received from a user for a computing device to capture biometric information, the client computing device transmits an instruction to the computing device (which may be sent via the server computing device  102 ) instructing the computing device to capture biometric information. The flow then proceeds to block  405  where the client computing device continues to operate. Next, the flow proceeds to block  406 . 
     At block  406 , the client computing device determines whether or not captured biometric information is received (such as from the computing device  101  and/or via the server computing device  102 ). If so, the flow proceeds to block  407  where the client computing device presents the captured biometric information to the user before the flow returns to block  402  and the client computing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow returns to block  405  and the client computing device continues to operate. 
     Although the method  400  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  400  is illustrated and described above as proceeding to block  402  after presenting received biometric information to the user. However, in various implementations multiple sets of biometric information may be received and presented to the user. In such implementations the flow may return from block  407  to block  405  where the client computing device continues to operate. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a fourth example method  500  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method  500  may be performed by the computing device  101  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  501  and proceeds to block  502  where the computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  503  where the computing device determines whether or not more than a threshold number of unauthorized use attempts have occurred (such as ten). If so, the flow proceeds to block  504 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  502  where the computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  504 , after the computing device determines more than a threshold number of unauthorized use attempts have occurred the computing device continues to operate and the flow proceeds to block  505 . At block  505 , the computing device determines whether or not biometric information has been received. If so, the flow proceeds to block  506 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  504  and the flow continues to operate. 
     At block  506 , after the computing device determines that biometric information has been received, the computing device stores the biometric information and the flow proceeds to block  507 . At block  507 , the computing device transmits the captured biometric information (such as to the server computing device  102  and/or the client computing device  103 ). The flow then returns to block  504  and the computing device continues to operate. 
     Although the method  500  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  500  is illustrated and described above as returning to block  504  after transmitting captured biometric information. However, in some cases the flow may return to block  502  after transmitting captured biometric information and the computing device may not continue to store biometric information unless the unauthorized use attempt is exceeded again. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a fifth example method  600  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method  600  may be performed by the computing device  101  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  601  and proceeds to block  602  where the computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  603  where the computing device determines whether or not more than a threshold number of unauthorized use attempts have occurred (such as ten). If so, the flow proceeds to block  604 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  602  where the computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  604 , after the computing device determines more than a threshold number of unauthorized use attempts have occurred the computing device continues to operate and the flow proceeds to block  605 . At block  605 , the computing device determines whether or not biometric information has been received. If so, the flow proceeds to block  606 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  604  and the flow continues to operate. 
     At block  606 , after the computing device determines that biometric information has been received, the computing device stores the biometric information and the flow proceeds to block  607 . At block  607 , the computing device determines whether an authorized user of the computing device has requested the stored biometric information via the computing device. If so, the flow proceeds to block  608  where the computing device provides the stored biometric information before the flow returns to block  602  and the computing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow returns directly to block  602  and the flow continues to operate. 
     Although the method  600  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  600  is illustrated and described above as returning to block  602  after providing captured biometric information. However, in some cases the flow may return to block  604  after providing captured biometric information and the computing device may continue to store biometric information without requiring that the unauthorized use attempt is exceeded again. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a sixth example method  700  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method  700  may be performed by the computing device  101  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  701  and proceeds to block  702  where the computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  703  where the computing device determines whether or not biometric information has been received (i.e., the trigger condition is operation of the computing device in this example). If so, the flow proceeds to block  704 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  702  and the flow continues to operate. 
     At block  704 , after the computing device determines that biometric information has been received, the computing device stores the biometric information and the flow proceeds to block  705 . At block  705 , the computing device determines whether to provide the stored biometric information. If so, the flow proceeds to block  706  where the computing device provides the stored biometric information (such as to a request received directly by the computing device from an authorized user, a request received from the server computing device  102  and/or the client computing device  103 , and so on) before the flow returns to block  702  and the computing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow returns directly to block  702  and the flow continues to operate. 
     Although the method  700  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  700  is illustrated and described above as determining whether or not to provide biometric information only after such information has been received and stored. However, in various implementations the computing device may provide any biometric information that has been captured and stored at any time a request is received during operation of the computing device. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a seventh example method  800  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method  800  may be performed by the server computing device  102  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  801  and proceeds to block  802  where the server computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  803  where the server computing device determines whether or not potential unauthorized use of a computing device (such as the computing device  101 ) may be detected. Such potential unauthorized use may be determined by receiving data regarding attempted use of the computing device and determining whether or not such intended use deviates from normal usage patterns of the computing device. If so, the flow proceeds to block  804 . Otherwise, the flow returned to block  802  and the server computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  804 , the server computing device transmits an instruction to the appropriate computing device instructing the computing device to capture biometric information. The flow then proceeds to block  805  where the server computing device continues to operate before the flow proceeds to block  806 . 
     At block  806 , the server computing device determines whether or not captured biometric information is received from the instructed computing device. If so, the flow proceeds to block  807 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  305  where the computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  807 , after the server computing device determines that captured biometric information is received from the instructed computing device, the server computing device stores the received biometric information. The flow then proceeds to block  808  where the server computing device determines whether or not to provide such stored biometric information to a user. Such a determination may be based on whether the user has requested stored biometric information, whether a threshold amount of biometric information has been stored (such as a complete fingerprint), and/or other such factors. 
     If the server computing device determines to provide such stored biometric information to the requesting user, the flow proceeds to block  809  where the server computing device provides the stored biometric information to the user (such as by transmitting the stored biometric information to the client computing device  103 ) before the flow returns to block  805  and the server computing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow returns directly to block  805 . 
     Although the method  800  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  800  is illustrated and described above as just providing stored biometric information. However, in some cases the server computing device may also evaluate the biometric information (such as comparing a stored fingerprint to a database of user fingerprints to ascertain the identity of the user to whom the fingerprint belongs) and provide information regarding such analysis along with or instead of the stored biometric information. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an eighth example method  900  for capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users. The method  900  may be performed by the server computing device  102  of  FIG. 1 . The flow begins at block  901  and proceeds to block  902  where the server computing device operates. The flow then proceeds to block  903  where the server computing device determines whether or not captured biometric information is received from a computing device (such as the computing device  101 , which may be configured such that the triggering condition for capture of biometric information is operation of the computing device). If so, the flow proceeds to block  904 . Otherwise, the flow returns to block  902  where the computing device continues to operate. 
     At block  904 , after the server computing device determines that captured biometric information is received from the computing device, the server computing device stores the received biometric information. The flow then proceeds to block  905  where the computing device determines whether or not to purge previously received biometric information. The server computing device may be configure to purge previously captured biometric information that was captured in association with a certain number of previous unauthorized access attempts (such as thirty), biometric information captured over a certain period of time previous (such as five days), biometric information associated with all previous unauthorized access attempts over a certain period of time (such as one month), and so on. If the server computing device determines to purge previously stored biometric information, the flow proceeds to block  906  where the server computing device purges such previously stored biometric information before the flow proceeds to block  907 . Otherwise, the flow proceeds directly to block  907 . 
     At block  907 , the server computing device determines whether or not to provide such stored biometric information to a user. Such a determination may be based on whether the user has requested stored biometric information, whether a threshold amount of biometric information has been stored (such as a complete fingerprint), and/or other such factors. 
     If the server computing device determines to provide such stored biometric information to the requesting user, the flow proceeds to block  908  where the server computing device provides the stored biometric information to the user (such as by transmitting the stored biometric information to the client computing device  103 ) before the flow returns to block  805  and the server computing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow returns directly to block  805 . 
     Although the method  900  is illustrated and described above as including particular operations performed in a particular order, it is understood that this is for the purposes of example. Other arrangements that may include fewer and/or more operations are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method  900  is illustrated and described above as determining whether or not to purge previously stored biometric information after receipt of captured biometric information. However, in some cases the server computing device may determine whether or not to purge previously stored biometric information at any time during operation. 
     Described embodiments may include touch I/O device  1001  that can receive touch input for interacting with computing system  1003  ( FIG. 10 ) via wired or wireless communication channel  1002 . The computing system  1003  may be configured to perform one or more of the methods  200 - 900  of  FIGS. 2-9 . Touch I/O device  1001  may be used to provide user input to computing system  1003  in lieu of or in combination with other input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, etc. One or more touch I/O devices  1001  may be used for providing user input to computing system  1003 . Touch I/O device  1001  may be an integral part of computing system  1003  (e.g., touch screen on a laptop) or may be separate from computing system  1003 . 
     Touch I/O device  1001  may include a touch sensitive panel which is wholly or partially transparent, semitransparent, non-transparent, opaque or any combination thereof. Touch I/O device  1001  may be embodied as a touch screen, touch pad, a touch screen functioning as a touch pad (e.g., a touch screen replacing the touchpad of a laptop), a touch screen or touchpad combined or incorporated with any other input device (e.g., a touch screen or touchpad disposed on a keyboard) or any multi-dimensional object having a touch sensitive surface for receiving touch input. 
     In one example, touch I/O device  1001  embodied as a touch screen may include a transparent and/or semitransparent touch sensitive panel partially or wholly positioned over at least a portion of a display. According to this embodiment, touch I/O device  1001  functions to display graphical data transmitted from computing system  1003  (and/or another source) and also functions to receive user input. In other embodiments, touch I/O device  1001  may be embodied as an integrated touch screen where touch sensitive components/devices are integral with display components/devices. In still other embodiments a touch screen may be used as a supplemental or additional display screen for displaying supplemental or the same graphical data as a primary display and to receive touch input. 
     Touch I/O device  1001  may be configured to detect the location of one or more touches or near touches on device  1001  based on capacitive, resistive, optical, acoustic, inductive, mechanical, chemical measurements, or any phenomena that can be measured with respect to the occurrences of the one or more touches or near touches in proximity to device  1001 . Software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof may be used to process the measurements of the detected touches to identify and track one or more gestures. A gesture may correspond to stationary or non-stationary, single or multiple, touches or near touches on touch I/O device  1001 . A gesture may be performed by moving one or more fingers or other objects in a particular manner on touch I/O device  1001  such as tapping, pressing, rocking, scrubbing, twisting, changing orientation, pressing with varying pressure and the like at essentially the same time, contiguously, or consecutively. A gesture may be characterized by, but is not limited to a pinching, sliding, swiping, rotating, flexing, dragging, or tapping motion between or with any other finger or fingers. A single gesture may be performed with one or more hands, by one or more users, or any combination thereof. 
     Computing system  1003  may drive a display with graphical data to display a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI may be configured to receive touch input via touch I/O device  1001 . Embodied as a touch screen, touch I/O device  1001  may display the GUI. Alternatively, the GUI may be displayed on a display separate from touch I/O device  1001 . The GUI may include graphical elements displayed at particular locations within the interface. Graphical elements may include but are not limited to a variety of displayed virtual input devices including virtual scroll wheels, a virtual keyboard, virtual knobs, virtual buttons, any virtual UI, and the like. A user may perform gestures at one or more particular locations on touch I/O device  1001  which may be associated with the graphical elements of the GUI. In other embodiments, the user may perform gestures at one or more locations that are independent of the locations of graphical elements of the GUI. Gestures performed on touch I/O device  1001  may directly or indirectly manipulate, control, modify, move, actuate, initiate or generally affect graphical elements such as cursors, icons, media files, lists, text, all or portions of images, or the like within the GUI. For instance, in the case of a touch screen, a user may directly interact with a graphical element by performing a gesture over the graphical element on the touch screen. Alternatively, a touch pad generally provides indirect interaction. Gestures may also affect non-displayed GUI elements (e.g., causing user interfaces to appear) or may affect other actions within computing system  1003  (e.g., affect a state or mode of a GUI, application, or operating system). Gestures may or may not be performed on touch I/O device  1001  in conjunction with a displayed cursor. For instance, in the case in which gestures are performed on a touchpad, a cursor (or pointer) may be displayed on a display screen or touch screen and the cursor may be controlled via touch input on the touchpad to interact with graphical objects on the display screen. In other embodiments in which gestures are performed directly on a touch screen, a user may interact directly with objects on the touch screen, with or without a cursor or pointer being displayed on the touch screen. 
     Feedback may be provided to the user via communication channel  1002  in response to or based on the touch or near touches on touch I/O device  1001 . Feedback may be transmitted optically, mechanically, electrically, olfactory, acoustically, or the like or any combination thereof and in a variable or non-variable manner. 
     In various implementations, one or more fingerprint sensors may be incorporated into the touch I/O device  1001 , located underneath the touch I/O device  1001 , incorporated into one or more other touch I/O devices (which may be different types of touch I/O device than the touch I/O device  1001 ), and so on. 
     Attention is now directed towards embodiments of a system architecture that may be embodied within any portable or non-portable device including but not limited to a communication device (e.g. mobile phone, smart phone), a multi-media device (e.g., MP3 player, TV, radio), a portable or handheld computer (e.g., tablet, netbook, laptop), a desktop computer, an All-In-One desktop, a peripheral device, or any other system or device adaptable to the inclusion of system architecture  2000 , including combinations of two or more of these types of devices.  FIG. 11  is a block diagram of one embodiment of system  2000  that generally includes one or more computer-readable media  2001 , processing system  2004 , Input/Output (I/O) subsystem  2006 , radio frequency (RF) circuitry  2008  and audio circuitry  2010 . These components may be coupled by one or more communication buses or signal lines  2003 . Each such bus or signal line may be denoted in the form  2003 -X, where X is a unique number. The bus or signal line may carry data of the appropriate type between components; each bus or signal line may differ from other buses/lines, but may perform generally similar operations. The system may be configured to perform one or more of the methods  200 - 900  of  FIGS. 2-9 . 
     It should be apparent that the architecture shown in  FIG. 11  is only one example architecture of system  2000 , and that system  2000  could have more or fewer components than shown, or a different configuration of components. The various components shown in  FIG. 11  can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits. 
     RF circuitry  2008  is used to send and receive information over a wireless link or network to one or more other devices and includes well-known circuitry for performing this function. RF circuitry  2008  and audio circuitry  2010  are coupled to processing system  2004  via peripherals interface  2016 . Interface  2016  includes various known components for establishing and maintaining communication between peripherals and processing system  2004 . Audio circuitry  2010  is coupled to audio speaker  2050  and microphone  2052  and includes known circuitry for processing voice signals received from interface  2016  to enable a user to communicate in real-time with other users. In some embodiments, audio circuitry  2010  includes a headphone jack (not shown). 
     Peripherals interface  2016  couples the input and output peripherals of the system to processor  2018  and computer-readable medium  2001 . One or more processors  2018  communicate with one or more computer-readable media  2001  via controller  2020 . Computer-readable medium  2001  can be any device or medium that can store code and/or data for use by one or more processors  2018 . Medium  2001  can include a memory hierarchy, including but not limited to cache, main memory and secondary memory. The memory hierarchy can be implemented using any combination of RAM (e.g., SRAM, DRAM, DDRAM), ROM, FLASH, magnetic and/or optical storage devices, such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact disks) and DVDs (digital video discs). Medium  2001  may also include a transmission medium for carrying information-bearing signals indicative of computer instructions or data (with or without a carrier wave upon which the signals are modulated). For example, the transmission medium may include a communications network, including but not limited to the Internet (also referred to as the World Wide Web), intranet(s), Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Local Area Networks (WLANs), Storage Area Networks (SANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and the like. 
     One or more processors  2018  run various software components stored in medium  2001  to perform various functions for system  2000 . In some embodiments, the software components include operating system  2022 , communication module (or set of instructions)  2024 , touch processing module (or set of instructions)  2026 , graphics module (or set of instructions)  2028 , one or more applications (or set of instructions)  2030 , and fingerprint sensing module (or set of instructions)  2038 . Each of these modules and above noted applications correspond to a set of instructions for performing one or more functions described above and the methods described in this application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, medium  2001  may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, medium  2001  may store additional modules and data structures not described above. 
     Operating system  2022  includes various procedures, sets of instructions, software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components. 
     Communication module  2024  facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports  2036  or via RF circuitry  2008  and includes various software components for handling data received from RF circuitry  2008  and/or external port  2036 . 
     Graphics module  2028  includes various known software components for rendering, animating and displaying graphical objects on a display surface. In embodiments in which touch I/O device  2012  is a touch sensitive display (e.g., touch screen), graphics module  2028  includes components for rendering, displaying, and animating objects on the touch sensitive display. 
     One or more applications  2030  can include any applications installed on system  2000 , including without limitation, a browser, address book, contact list, email, instant messaging, word processing, keyboard emulation, widgets, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, voice replication, location determination capability (such as that provided by the global positioning system (GPS)), a music player, etc. 
     Touch processing module  2026  includes various software components for performing various tasks associated with touch I/O device  2012  including but not limited to receiving and processing touch input received from I/O device  2012  via touch I/O device controller  2032 . 
     System  2000  may further include fingerprint sensing module  2038  for performing the method/functions as described herein in connection with  FIGS. 2-9 . Fingerprint sensing module  2038  may at least be executed to, or otherwise function to, perform various tasks associated with the fingerprint sensor, such as receiving and processing fingerprint sensor input. The fingerprint sensing module  2038  may also control certain operational aspects of the fingerprint sensor  2042 , such as its capture of fingerprint data and/or transmission of the same to the processor  2018  and/or secure processor  2040 . Module  2038  may also interact with the touch I/O device  2012 , graphics module  2028  or other graphical display. Module  2038  may be embodied as hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Although module  2038  is shown to reside within medium  2001 , all or portions of module  2038  may be embodied within other components within system  2000  or may be wholly embodied as a separate component within system  2000 . 
     I/O subsystem  2006  is coupled to touch I/O device  2012  and one or more other I/O devices  2014  for controlling or performing various functions. Touch I/O device  2012  communicates with processing system  2004  via touch I/O device controller  2032 , which includes various components for processing user touch input (e.g., scanning hardware). One or more other input controllers  2034  receives/sends electrical signals from/to other I/O devices  2014 . Other I/O devices  2014  may include physical buttons, dials, slider switches, sticks, keyboards, touch pads, additional display screens, or any combination thereof. 
     If embodied as a touch screen, touch I/O device  2012  displays visual output to the user in a GUI. The visual output may include text, graphics, video, and any combination thereof. Some or all of the visual output may correspond to user-interface objects. Touch I/O device  2012  forms a touch-sensitive surface that accepts touch input from the user. Touch I/O device  2012  and touch screen controller  2032  (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in medium  2001 ) detects and tracks touches or near touches (and any movement or release of the touch) on touch I/O device  2012  and converts the detected touch input into interaction with graphical objects, such as one or more user-interface objects. In the case in which device  2012  is embodied as a touch screen, the user can directly interact with graphical objects that are displayed on the touch screen. Alternatively, in the case in which device  2012  is embodied as a touch device other than a touch screen (e.g., a touch pad), the user may indirectly interact with graphical objects that are displayed on a separate display screen embodied as I/O device  2014 . 
     Touch I/O device  2012  may be analogous to the multi-touch sensitive surface described in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932 (Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     Embodiments in which touch I/O device  2012  is a touch screen, the touch screen may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, OLED (organic LED), or OEL (organic electro luminescence), although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. 
     Feedback may be provided by touch I/O device  2012  based on the user&#39;s touch input as well as a state or states of what is being displayed and/or of the computing system. Feedback may be transmitted optically (e.g., light signal or displayed image), mechanically (e.g., haptic feedback, touch feedback, force feedback, or the like), electrically (e.g., electrical stimulation), olfactory, acoustically (e.g., beep or the like), or the like or any combination thereof and in a variable or non-variable manner. 
     System  2000  also includes power system  2044  for powering the various hardware components and may include a power management system, one or more power sources, a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator and any other components typically associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices. 
     In some embodiments, peripherals interface  2016 , one or more processors  2018 , and memory controller  2020  may be implemented on a single chip, such as processing system  2004 . In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips. 
     In addition to the foregoing, the system  2000  may include a secure processor  2040  in communication with a fingerprint sensor  2042 , via a fingerprint I/O controller  2044 . Secure processor  2040  may be implemented as one or more processing units. The operation of these various elements will now be described. 
     The fingerprint sensor  2042  may operate to capacitively capture a series of images, or nodes. When taken together, these nodes may form a fingerprint. The full set of nodes may be referred to herein as a “mesh.” 
     Each node in the mesh may be separately captured by the fingerprint sensor  2042 , which may be an array sensor. Generally, there is some overlap between images in nodes representing adjacent portions of a fingerprint. Such overlap may assist in assembling the fingerprint from the nodes, as various image recognition techniques may be employed to use the overlap to properly identify and/or align adjacent nodes in the mesh. 
     Sensed fingerprint data may be transmitted through the fingerprint I/O controller  2044  to the processor  2018  and/or the secure processor  2040 . In some embodiments, the data is relayed from the fingerprint I/O controller  2044  to the secure processor  2040  directly. The fingerprint data is encrypted, obfuscated, or otherwise prevented from being accessed by an unauthorized device or element, by any of the fingerprint sensor  2042 , the fingerprint I/O controller  2044  or another element prior to being transmitted to either processor. The secure processor  2040  may decrypt the data to reconstruct the node. In some embodiments, unencrypted data may be transmitted directly to the secure processor  2040  from the fingerprint controller  2044  (or the sensor  2042  if no controller is present). The secure processor may then encrypt this data. 
     Fingerprint data, either as nodes or meshes, may be stored in the computer-readable medium  2001  and accessed as necessary. In some embodiments, only the secure processor  2040  may access stored fingerprint data, while in other embodiments either the secure processor or the processor  2018  may access such data. 
     In the present disclosure, the methods disclosed may be implemented as sets of instructions or software readable by a device. Further, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed are examples of sample approaches. In other embodiments, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method can be rearranged while remaining within the disclosed subject matter. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not necessarily meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented. 
     The described disclosure may be provided as a computer program product, or software, that may include a non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to the present disclosure. A non-transitory machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). The non-transitory machine-readable medium may take the form of, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppy diskette, video cassette, and so on); optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; and so on. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that personal information data, including biometric data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the use of biometric authentication data can be used for convenient access to device features without the use of passwords. In other examples, user biometric data is collected for providing users with feedback about their health or fitness levels. Further, other uses for personal information data, including biometric data, that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. 
     The present disclosure further contemplates that the entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure, including the use of data encryption and security methods that meets or exceeds industry or government standards. For example, personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection should occur only after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities would take any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data, including biometric data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, in the case of biometric authentication methods, the present technology can be configured to allow users to optionally bypass biometric authentication steps by providing secure information such as passwords, personal identification numbers (PINS), touch gestures, or other authentication methods, alone or in combination, known to those of skill in the art. In another example, users can select to remove, disable, or restrict access to certain health-related applications collecting users&#39; personal health or fitness data. 
     It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosed subject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes. 
     While the present disclosure has been described with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood that these embodiments are illustrative and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited to them. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible. More generally, embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure have been described in the context or particular embodiments. Functionality may be separated or combined in blocks differently in various embodiments of the disclosure or described with different terminology. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the disclosure as defined in the claims that follow.