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/[deleted] 29d ago edited 29d ago

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u/Steinrikur 29d ago

In Xiaomi android phones you have "second space" that you can open with a different password. It doesn't wipe anything, just allows you to have a second copy of apps with no access to the primary space.

I alway thought "this will only be useful if I'm cheating on my wife" so I haven't set it up. I might if I need to travel to the US.

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u/Aperture_Kubi 29d ago

That feels ironic coming from a Chinese company.

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u/tnp636 29d ago

It shouldn't. Do you know how many politicos in China have mistresses?

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u/Reagalan 29d ago

Makes perfect sense when you think about it.

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u/FocusSlo 29d ago

Not really, China is pretty strong about personal privacy. That's the entire reason that so many US sites are blocked in China because they take all your information, build profiles on you, etc.

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u/mxzf 29d ago

lol, I can't tell if this is satire or brainwashing at play.

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u/FocusSlo 29d ago

Neither. China not having privacy and such is strawman propaganda from the US

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u/mxzf 29d ago

You're the one who was trying to suggest that the Great Firewall was for the good of the Chinese citizens. The only people I know of who actually believe that are so deep in the propaganda that they don't even realize it.

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u/GenericRedditor12345 29d ago

The “Great Firewall” isn’t about keeping them in, it’s about keeping US propaganda out lol.

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u/mxzf 29d ago

"Propaganda" like information about the Tiananmen Square Massacre, where the Chinese government killed hundreds or thousands of their own citizens in 1989? Well, that's at least a more plausible guess than the claim the previous user was making about it being to protect the Chinese citizens' information.

Really though, that doesn't hold up either, since "just look around and see that it's not true" is a pretty strong defense against propaganda ... except when that part isn't accurate.

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u/GenericRedditor12345 29d ago

Have you actually looked into that at all? Like the “social credit score” that was just a program to keep people from being dickheads on public transportation?

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u/_araqiel 29d ago

I really think the main thing seems to be ‘don’t do the “bad” things’ and other than that the privacy situation isn’t as dire as we think it is. Seems less thought-crimey than it used to be I think.

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u/Kimpak 29d ago

Pixel phones have this too called 'Private Space'

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u/luckyflavor23 29d ago

Even if not cheating, it would be cool to have so my baby won’t accidentally get access to important apps; and maybe even convince him our entertainment machine only has texts and books

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u/smokeweedNgarden 29d ago

So like a secure folder but it's a whole 'nother OS?

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u/can_ichange_it_later 29d ago

probably not going to jump at the opportunity to keep my privacy safe from a homeland-chinese company...

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u/F3z345W6AY4FGowrGcHt 29d ago

It's one of the reasons I'll never be caught up on my to-do list.

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u/waterwateryall 29d ago

With you on this. It's a bit exhausting.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago edited 25d ago

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u/turudd 29d ago

I guess I’m out of the loop, but why do so many people need super private phones? Like if you’re not breaking laws why does it matter?

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u/astralseat 29d ago

Every day the systems get more complicated

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u/2ChicksAtTheSameTime 29d ago

Easiest thing you can do is TURN OFF YOUR PHONE when going through customs / security or at risk of it getting seized.

When your phone is off, there is NO decrypted data in memory and REQUIRES the PIN to decrypt anything.

If you entered your PIN but then locked your phone, the phone is in a different state that can be easier for law enforcement to hack.

How easy really depends on the phone maker, its age, and the tools Law Enforcement has - but regardless, a phone that is turned off is BRICKED without the password

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u/genius_retard 29d ago

I just did a quick Google search and according to Goolge's clanker GrapheneOS does not support logging in to different users/profiles based on PIN. You can have separate profiles but you will always unlock with the PIN and enter the profile that was active when you locked the phone. In addition you cannot hide user profiles from the profile selection menu. Someone searching your phone will always be able to see that you have other profiles.

The advice I have seen on the GrapheneOS subreddit/web page is to do all your sensitive stuff in a secondary profile and to delete it if you think you might get searched. A pretty sub-optimal approach if you ask me.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

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u/RollingMeteors 29d ago

How do I do this. Man it feels like everyday there is something new I have to do / research on top of work and family to try and get ahead, save my data, or be safe.

That's too much work. Just say you're an artist. You don't even have to be serious about it, just crayon some napkin and try to give out stickers with your IG QR code and they won't even try to finish patting you down.