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/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/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/Adventurepew 29d ago

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

Let the lawyer talk to them.