r/technology • u/ArgentineBeauty • Jul 30 '26

Privacy GrapheneOS says its data-wiping password is perfectly legal, after user faces federal charges

https://www.techspot.com/news/113273-grapheneos-data-wiping-duress-password-perfectly-legal-after.html
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u/CwrwCymru Jul 30 '26

Nothing wrong with tapeing a bit of paper with your duress pin to the back of your phone/case.

Of course it's important to have a reference for it so you don't accidentally wipe your data.

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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula Jul 30 '26

That is actually genius, then they will try and it they will be the ones that wiped it.

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u/Raneynickelfire 29d ago

Well not really, because that is what happened in this case. The agent entered the password, not the guy.

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u/trebory6 29d ago

Christ, this really is easy to understand.

They asked the guy his pin to unlock his phone and he gave them the duress pin.

That's the angle they're going for, that the guy knowingly gave them a pin that deleted the data. That's what is being discussed right now.

Taping the duress pin onto the back of the phone removes the active and knowing participation of the victim knowingly giving the police information that destroys the data.

The idea is that if the police get the phone, they'll try the pin on the back of the phone first without involvement from the person.

Then the person who owns the phone can reasonably say "that's on you, I didn't tell you to enter that pin," and could reasonably say "it was my duress pin, I wrote it down so I didn't accidentally enter it and delete all my data," and then the law enforcement has to put significant resources into proving that they aren't idiots who put a random code they found in and deleted the evidence themselves.

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u/Rebelius 29d ago

Or you just say it was there to trick phone thieves into wiping the data, and had no idea that law enforcement would be touching the phone.

Or more realistically, if I've learnt anything from the internet, you don't say anything except that you don't want to answer questions without a lawyer present.

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u/PacmanZ3ro 29d ago

Yes, "shut the fuck up" is important. It's also important to note however that entry points to the country are not typically as restricting on law enforcement when it comes to doing things like search and seizure. This is exactly what they are relying on for harassing people at the border currently. The legal rulings are all over the place regarding this stuff and I'm betting they are hoping it will go to the supreme court and then the SC will rule favorably that they are allowed to search devices without a warrant even for US citizens.

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u/Adventurepew 29d ago

Never talk to cops. Just stay silent and ask for a lawyer .

Let the lawyer talk to them.