You better think twice before you flash a peace sign in a photo again, someone might be stealing your fingerprints! This may seem like a silly fear but Japan’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) believes that it is possible to do so and we should all be wary of the friendly hand gesture.

With the amount of quality cameras available, just with our smartphones, and the sea of peace loving selfies, researchers were curious if they could lift the information on our finger tips from pictures. What they found was that it was possible as long as the photo was taken nine feet away or less.

We’re using more fingerprint recognition technology so someone who is able to grab that identifier may be able to get into your phone, computer, or all kinds of things. According to the NII, you don’t even need really high tech equipment to do this, just the time and a little peace. To be safe, just keep your fingers off camera for now if they’re bare if you’re worried.

Source: Japan Times