Australians are holding onto their mobile phones for longer, using more data, watching more TV "in the hand", and are, increasingly, being influenced by digital giants like Google, Amazon and Apple, according to newly published research.

Smartphones can be fooled by fake fingerprints that are made up of several common features found in human fingerprints, researchers at New York University and Michigan State University claim.

Credit card firm Mastercard has launched a biometric card in South Africa, using chip and fingerprint technology for identifying a cardholder for in-store purchases.