It turns out that your seemingly random taps, swipes, and other finger gestures on a touchscreen display might not be so random after all. In fact, the way you interact with a touchscreen is so unique that researchers at Georgia Tech have successfully created software that can lock down your tablet if someone else pokes and prods it.


The LatentGesture system constantly monitors how a user interacts with a touchscreen device like a smartphone or tablet, and over time it's able to generate a sort of 'touch signature' for them. So if someone else comes along and starts using the device, the system will quickly spot the differences in on-screen movements, and then lock it down completely for security reasons.

What's even more remarkable is that during testing the system has been found to be nearly 98 percent accurate when used on smartphones, and almost 97 percent accurate with tablets. And it can accommodate multiple users on a single device, recognizing family members as being approved users, but locking out strangers.


There's no word on when the LatentGesture software might be available for the devices you currently use, but it would make a great selling feature for future hardware. And even if it doesn't replace your device's protected lock screen, it still sounds like a fantastic second layer of security if someone manages to guess your password. [Georgia Tech via Pocket-lint]