GrapheneOS provides users with the ability to set a duress PIN/Password that will irreversibly wipe the device (along with any installed eSIMs) once entered anywhere where the device credentials are requested (on the lockscreen, along with any such prompt in the OS).

The wipe does not require a reboot and cannot be interrupted. It can be set up at Settings > Security > Duress Password in the owner profile. Both a duress PIN and password will need to be set to account for different profiles that may have different unlock methods.

Note that if the duress PIN/Password is the same as the actual unlock method, the actual unlock method always takes precedence, and therefore no wipe will occur.

Source: https://grapheneos.org/features#duress

  • macniel
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    3528 days ago

    Mhm i can imagine that GrapheneOS will be marked as an illegal OS once Interpol and others get wind of this kill switch.

  • @smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2128 days ago

    Wonder if this say a big “WIPING…” and shows a blank profile then.

    Because it would be much more useful if this would erase real profile and then quickly switch to some fake profile looking real.

    • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼
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      124 days ago

      It doesn’t say anything. It shuts the device down almost instantly, and simulnateously wipes the encryption keys from the secure element, ensuring that the data stored on the SSD can’t be decrypted.

        • … and I’ve been told I’m demanding and entitled, but here’s some jackass who downvoted one(@ryannathans) who is doing the work. You or I can never do enough to be worthy to request certain features or bug-fixes be given higher priority.

          These people need to go back to Spez’s, Musk’s, or Zuck’s playground, since they love having no say so much.

  • Everett
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    828 days ago

    Cool feature, I wonder if a duress fingerprint will be introduced in the future?

    • Jolteon
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      3028 days ago

      I feel like that would be a lot easier to accidentally trigger.

      • Everett
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        428 days ago

        You’re not wrong, but like the duress pin, it would be a nice feature to have. Not everyone would have to set a duress fingerprint, just the people who find value in it.

        • @Kayel@aussie.zone
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          628 days ago

          You would not believe how much I have lost from being obsessed with high-threat modeling for my low-threat life. $10k and family videos for a start.

          Sometimes it’s a good idea to protect the community from itself lol.

            • @Kayel@aussie.zone
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              427 days ago

              Writing down a crypto wallet key in a self hosted password manager on a highly encrypted self hosted drive which degraded. Pretty much the same with the photos, if I didn’t encrypt my backups I would have been able to recover more files.

              • Oh yikes.

                I got out of crypto stuff long ago. But I was so paranoid with losing wallet keys that I’d put them everywhere in chunks, like a medieval quartered body spread all over Scotland.

    • Jolteon
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      28 days ago

      Alternately, it could unlock the phone while also erasing specific parts of it, like message history and call logs, potentially replacing them with something you’d set up previously.

      Edit: and obviously it would disable the duress pin and set the unlocking pin to it.

    • @DetectiveSanity@lemmy.world
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      328 days ago

      Depends on what you did! Say for example they’re using Graphene to harass/paedophilia then they already have a copious amount of evidence on hand since they are there.

      For organising peaceful protests that seems less of an issue and the other end of the chats is the weak link.

  • Possibly linux
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    -628 days ago

    That’s actually pretty cool. I just wish they would take a stance against proprietary software.