Apple has recently filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Workplace (UPTO) titled 'Consumer Identification Using Headphones,' outlining how it could be able to identify AirPods owners and improve their privacy.

According to the patent application, Apple believes that someone may put on another person's AirPods and, while connected to that person's device, it may end up disclosing personal data such as Siri asserting alerts or calendar updates. That is absolutely correct, as there is no biometric authentication-like feature available for AirPods, and it also looks to be difficult to implement.

Nonetheless, the latest patent application attempts to solve the issue. Apple has stated that it will most likely employ nearby devices, ultrasonic warnings, speech recognition, and customers' walking patterns to determine who is authorized to use the system.

The notion here is quite similar to what Apple has done with the unlocked with Apple Watch feature as an alternative way for unlocking an iPhone while someone is wearing a mask. Apple's plan looks to be a more detailed version of that. The company has stated that the headphones, iPhone, and Apple Watch may all work together to identify the owner.

Reportedly, Apple will calculate the similarity rating based on the primary and secondary motion data, and if the similarity rating reaches the threshold similarity value, the person who is wearing the AirPods is the owner.

The primary motion is determined by the motion of the headphones and iPhone, while the second motion is determined by the motion of the iPhone and the Apple Watch. This isn't all Apple has stated that they will employ ultrasonic sound to determine whether or not the individual is the current owner.

While the concept looks to be intriguing, Apple has yet to specify what benefits users would receive from this feature. The one we now know is that Siri can prevent you from claiming any messages you've received while someone else is wearing your AirPods.