Taking cue from tiny variations in the smartphone camera's sensors, a team of researchers has discovered how to identify smartphones by examining just one photo taken by the device. The advancement opens the possibility of using smartphones -- instead of body parts -- as a form of identification to deter cybercrime, said the researchers from the University at Buffalo. "Like snowflakes, no two smartphones are the same. Each device, regardless of the manufacturer or make, can be identified through a pattern of microscopic imaging flaws that are present in every picture they take," said Kui Ren, the study's lead author.