Another reply did the thinking emoji face at biometrics and that’s good. Here’s why it’s worthwhile to never enable biometrics:
You don’t know when you’re going to be compelled to use them and you don’t drill on turning them off.
The whole point of no knock and other police tactics is to prevent you from keeping them from getting what they want. You can’t expect yourself to just never be surprised, that’s ridiculous. Turn biometrics off so getting surprised by the cops doesn’t immediately give them the keys to the castle!
No one drills enough, but let’s say you’re the one person who does drill enough on turning off biometrics: wouldn’t that practice time be better spent with biometrics off, drilling on shutting your phone down so they have to deal with its much more secure Before First Unlock state instead?
Turn off biometrics and practice turning your phone off.
In my country police are known to torture people until they sign a confession written by them. So I don’t think disabling biometrics will make a difference. But I’ve still done it.
nobody should discount hardware-level hacks either. ultimately GOS is the only way to get decent software on mobile without leaving it exposed in the event of petty theft. people implying it will be a serious roadblock to imperialist state-level actors are naive or even suspicious to me
Every nation has a byzantine system of laws and codes enumerating different ways for police to violate the “rights” that nation has enshrined in law.
One way to avoid compelled speech (a “right” Americans have but other nations citizens might not) is to simply misremember your lock code as many times as it takes to trigger factory reset.
Americans don’t need to know that because they can’t be compelled to enter a passkey, but people in countries with no qualms about compelled speech like Germany would be well served by disabling biometrics so they have the option of lying and taking that hit instead of giving up their privacy.
Do your own research about your jurisdiction, but go ahead and turn off biometrics because it literally makes any group that can control your movement (which in English common law is the basis for the concept of “arrest”, and so likely a situation many different nationalities will face) access to your devices.
Another reply did the thinking emoji face at biometrics and that’s good. Here’s why it’s worthwhile to never enable biometrics:
You don’t know when you’re going to be compelled to use them and you don’t drill on turning them off.
The whole point of no knock and other police tactics is to prevent you from keeping them from getting what they want. You can’t expect yourself to just never be surprised, that’s ridiculous. Turn biometrics off so getting surprised by the cops doesn’t immediately give them the keys to the castle!
No one drills enough, but let’s say you’re the one person who does drill enough on turning off biometrics: wouldn’t that practice time be better spent with biometrics off, drilling on shutting your phone down so they have to deal with its much more secure Before First Unlock state instead?
Turn off biometrics and practice turning your phone off.
I wonder is this something to actually worry about outside of the US?
In my country police are known to torture people until they sign a confession written by them. So I don’t think disabling biometrics will make a difference. But I’ve still done it.
nobody should discount hardware-level hacks either. ultimately GOS is the only way to get decent software on mobile without leaving it exposed in the event of petty theft. people implying it will be a serious roadblock to imperialist state-level actors are naive or even suspicious to me
Yes it absolutely is.
Every nation has a byzantine system of laws and codes enumerating different ways for police to violate the “rights” that nation has enshrined in law.
One way to avoid compelled speech (a “right” Americans have but other nations citizens might not) is to simply misremember your lock code as many times as it takes to trigger factory reset.
Americans don’t need to know that because they can’t be compelled to enter a passkey, but people in countries with no qualms about compelled speech like Germany would be well served by disabling biometrics so they have the option of lying and taking that hit instead of giving up their privacy.
Do your own research about your jurisdiction, but go ahead and turn off biometrics because it literally makes any group that can control your movement (which in English common law is the basis for the concept of “arrest”, and so likely a situation many different nationalities will face) access to your devices.
FWIW gOS has a duress PIN baked in. Doesn’t stop the rubber hose but at least you can be smug ;}