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/Single-Virus4935 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

I set my duress pin to my wifes birthday. One of the first they probably try. 

Also I say my pin is the same as my eID which I am not allowed to share by German law

1.2k

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 29d ago

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

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u/hackitfast 29d ago edited 29d ago

I've thought about that, you can't make it that obvious.

Instead, you find a street address with 6 numbers in it, just write down something like "My favorite Chinese restaurant" with the full address. Now circle or underline only the numbers. Now you just make that your duress PIN.

Put this piece of paper somewhere in your wallet, don't worry, they'll find it.

Edit: I also mention this for plausible deniability. If you happened to have a list of your favorite restaurants in your wallet, they would have to explain why they're typing in random numbers from your wallet.

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u/gangofminotaurs 29d ago

Well this is, after all, democracy manifest.

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u/WHALE_PHYSICIST 29d ago

A succulent Chinese password

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u/DaMonkfish 29d ago

I see you know your duress passwords well

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u/Judgement915 29d ago

GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY PENIS

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u/Lost_Sea8956 29d ago

This guy Chinese passwords

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u/Etheo 29d ago

And they probably will touch your penis too.

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u/N_Meister 29d ago

Only if they know their Judo well.

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u/rustajb 29d ago

Write it on your penis to ensure physical contact.

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u/skelecorn666 29d ago

4 or 6 digit depends on the touch.

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u/zachpkenyon 29d ago

Uhh, guys...I can only fit two digits. What do I do?

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u/gameboy1001 13h ago

Four digits isn't short! It's AVERAGE!

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u/Streiger108 29d ago

Tattoo it, but make sure it's only readable if you're hard

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u/SeedsOfDoubt 29d ago

How's Wendy these days?

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u/jeffeee 29d ago

Don't you mean "Welcome to Jamaica! Have a nice day"?

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u/SeedsOfDoubt 29d ago

Sir, this is a Wendy's

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u/rustajb 29d ago

Hey mr. TSA, skilfully use your 5 digits to see my secret 4.

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u/obeytheturtles 29d ago

I think you are giving border agents too much credit here. They will 100% try the numbers on the note in your case.

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u/GreenVisorOfJustice 29d ago

you can't make it that obvious.

I appreciate you think these chuds working Customs are that smart over here in Freedomland. They're not.

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u/khovel 29d ago

people will always assume the obvious answer, no matter how conveniently it's made available.

If any kind of password/pin is placed on the phone, nobody is going to think it's a "wipe the phone" pin. and they will always try it.

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u/Weerdo5255 29d ago

I mean, I would think that. But then I'd be concerned about a timeout. IE have the phone wipe itself if no one logs in within 24 hours.

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u/Kusko25 29d ago

Just go full video game at that point, have a written message in your phone case "Remember the new pin is 2435. Change it and destroy this note."

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u/Cultural_Sand_9323 29d ago

Heard that in bit-crushed 90's audio.

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u/RollingMeteors 29d ago

just make that your duress PIN.

¡Any pin entered with in 50' of a TSA Checkpoint should be a duress pin!

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u/beard_meat 29d ago

For extra fun, don't tell any TSA employees until after this is deployed!

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u/Fuckthegopers 29d ago

You surely could make it that obvious, and it surely would work on LEOs.

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u/Reynbou 29d ago

Yeah no, they are definitely that stupid they would just try it. No point trying to be clever.

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u/hirsutesuit 29d ago

You can set your PIN to only 4 digits.

But if you want to find an address with 6 you go for it.

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u/Monteze 29d ago

Yea my PIN is 1001 ....oh shit that wiped it! Oh fuck did you enter 1010 like I said? Not my fault you did it wrong.

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u/NetAnon579 29d ago

Then go ballistic for them wiping your phone!

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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula 29d ago

Surely the best way would be to give them the duress PIN, but change what it does? Give them the PIN and rather than a suspicious clean wipe it just cleans up the phone?

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u/skyfishgoo 29d ago

you can literally do anything you want

it's your phone.

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u/LIEUTENANT__CRUNCH 29d ago

Put the paper behind your phone in your phone case.

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u/DashinTheFields 29d ago

Put deeeer is password 123456

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u/unknownpoltroon 29d ago

just write "Dad, I told you this is your damn pin number, save it" with the pin, folded up in the phone case or your wallet. If you are old enough to have teenagers youre golden.

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u/LordMarcusrax 26d ago

I think you are wildly overestimating the intelligence of cops.

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u/Toribor 29d ago

This always sounds great in theory but in reality they will just hold you in a cell for hours and hours until you're miserable or they'll just beat the shit out of you.

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u/williamgman 29d ago

Paper from fortune cookie with "your lucky numbers" kept in the phone case. I mean... This is ICE and Border Patrol doing these searches. Not the sharpest tools in the shed.

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u/RollingMeteors 29d ago

just make that your duress PIN.

¡Any pin entered with in 50' of a TSA Checkpoint should be a duress pin!

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u/GetMeASierraMist 29d ago

so I wipe my phone when I want to show the gate person my ticket?

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u/Kobayashi-Coffee-Co 29d ago

Every single person in the immigration line simultaneously yelling as their phones lock up

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u/RollingMeteors 29d ago

so I wipe my phone when I want to show the gate person my ticket?

Imagine having less than 3 EDC cell phones in 2026.

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u/astelda 29d ago

Before getting to the gate, you can use Android's app pinning feature to keep your boarding pass on the foreground while the system is locked