A Shanghai-based cybersecurity expert has warned that flashing the “scissor hand” gesture — similar to the peace sign — for the camera may be giving criminals all the information they need to copy fingerprints, Sixth Tone’s sister publication, The Paper, reported Sunday.

During an event promoting China’s annual cybersecurity week, Zhang Wei, the deputy director of the Shanghai Information Security Trade Association, said that magnification features and AI-enhanced technologies make it possible to extract 100% of a person’s fingerprints from a photo taken 1.5 meters away, while around 50% of fingerprints can be extracted from photos taken 3 meters away. Zhang advised people against uploading photos incorporating the popular hand gesture, as criminals could use them to make fingerprint molds and register fingerprint-activated smart locks or mobile payment accounts.

In recent years, fingerprint authentication has become widespread in China, especially since Alipay and WeChat — multifunctional apps that have become all but indispensable in China — introduced fingerprint-based mobile payment systems in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

But the uptick in fingerprint authentication has come with privacy concerns. Last November, a report by the China Consumers Association revealed that over 90% of 100 popular apps it assessed were “over-collecting” data, including users’ fingerprints. And in March, a Shenzhen elementary school sparked backlash by collecting students’ fingerprints without their parents’ consent, supposedly as part of an “intelligence test.” (Image: VCG)