'Safe Deposit Box' App Planned for Mac OS X Lion, or Beyond

A recent patent application describing a feature called “Safe Deposit Box” has been attributed to Mac OS X Lion, the upcoming major revision to Apple’s desktop operating system.

Detailed by Patently Apple in a recent post, and picked up by MacRumors, the patent application talks of a new Mac OS X feature called "Safe Deposit Box".

As simple as it sounds, Apple's patent is about a ‘deposit box’ tasked with securing important user files.

It’s sort of like Dropbox for important files like “a Will or Living Will, agreements, life insurance policies, home insurance policies, a simple home inventory list or video or […] a copy of your iTunes Library,” Patently Apple explains.

When a user drops a file representation onto a safe deposit box icon, the file is secured.

The user could also access secured files through a safe deposit box window, when he / she selects the safe deposit box icon and verifies his or her identity, another embodiment goes.

Files could also be encrypted automatically whenever they are dragged into the deposit box, while original copies would be securely deleted and / or copied into the cloud for backup.

Patently Apple pinpoints that one of the key attributes of Apple's Safe Deposit Box, whether it’s an app or a feature built right inside OS X, is that digital valuables could be stored "off site" or beyond the home computer.

Apple does not specifically tie the function to a new version of Mac OS X, though it is fair to assume that, if said function does materialize, it will be implemented in Mac OS X Lion.

Apple’s Lion is scheduled to debut this summer packing key new additions like Launchpad (a home for a user’s entire library of apps), full screen apps, Mission Control (a comprehensive view of what’s running on your Mac), and more.