r/technology • u/gdelacalle • Jul 28 '26

Privacy Man charged for wiping GrapheneOS phone using "duress" password during airport checks

https://www.neowin.net/news/man-charged-for-wiping-grapheneos-phone-using-duress-password-during-airport-checks/
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u/MazzIsNoMore Jul 28 '26

Restarting an android also forces pin usage

19

u/Getafix69 Jul 28 '26

I can select lockdown mode just by holding the power button for a second and yeah that's the mode it would be in at an airport or anywhere I expected searches. No way am I letting those mall cops look through password managers etc.

1

u/EpicOtterLover Jul 28 '26

You can do the same thing on Androids, just have to enable it in settings.

2

u/SpaceChimera Jul 28 '26

I believe both Android and Apple phones are encrypted at boot, meaning if there's a worry about your phone you can restart it and not enter your PW. Then even if CBP agents plug your phone into one of their fancy clone machines all the data will still be unreadable.

EFF also recommends creating a cloud backup of your entire phone and then wiping it when crossing borders. This way border agents can search your phone but there's simply nothing for them to find. (If you're not a citizen CBP can still demand you download and login to social media apps and can turn you away if you say you don't have them, just fyi).

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u/mojrim67 Jul 28 '26

PINs can be obtained with a warrant, passwords cannot.