Cops can force suspect to unlock phone with thumbprint, US court rules

There was already a case with this same fingerprint outcome a few years ago. Biometrics are not protected from seizure.

However, passcodes still are. Last time I checked you cannot be compelled to surrender your passcode locking your phone.

What happened to being secure in our documents and personal affects?

Is the constitution a joke to you?

Never use biometrics to lock anything. You can be forced to push a finger to a sensor, or your head forcibly held still for a facial scan.

Only use passwords/passcords. only they are secure against this totalitarian bullshit.

They'll still put you in jail on fake charges if you refuse to give your passcode, but at least your datas safe and now your case is unlawful imprisonment instead of relying on octogenarian judges thinking its okay to force compliance with a biometric.

I feel like this has always been the case? There's not a lot of precedence to be sure, but people have been operating under that assumption for a long time.

That's why, if you need to keep the cops from looking in your phone, you should use a password. Can't be compelled to give a password.

The classic example is a safe. There's tons of court precedence that you can be compelled to give the cops a physical key to unlock it if there is one, but you can't be compelled to tell them the combo if it's a dial lock.

Don't use biometrics.

Period.

Full stop.

But Gym Jordan can ignore a congressional subpoena. Chyea I'm not giving my thumbprint.

Is there a way to set up multiple user profiles for the same phone, activated by different prints/PINs?

Then you could have your main profile unlocked by like your ring finger print; but if you scan your thumb or index, it'll unlock basically a dummy account with some bullshit apps and contacts and nothing else.

Like the phone equivalent of a throw wallet with a few bucks and an expired credit card or two so you have something to surrender in the event of getting mugged, without losing anything of actual value.

Don't use fingerprint to unlock phone. They can force your fingerprint, but they can't force your password .... So just use a password. Problem solved

ACAB

So when comes the ruling that they can just straight up execute you without having to do the hustle of a fake investigation on themselves?

Turn on pin-secured boot and shut off the phone and a fingerprint should be useless now, right? And don't the cops have a lot people's fingerprints on record? Are we just waiting for a cop with a higher than room temperature IQ to come up with a duplicating method to get in people's phones without warrant or even probable cause?

Fuck America

Luckily LineageOS and GrapheneOS have a lockdown mode (Graphene also supports disabling fingerprint for screen unlock), though rebooting your phone usually doesn't cause you to lose any work since everything autosaves as phones kill background apps to save battery and memory. Separate user profiles for situations like protests or certain contexts (preferably with some dummy data to make it not look to sus) are also useful.

Power+volume up > lockdown

Turn your phone off before handover. They require pin at power on, which at least at this time cannot be compelled.

Clearly we need a finger print to wipe it.

Thumb to open, middle to initiate wipe.

FYI for iPhone users if you run into the Fuzz and you need to lock it out of biometrics, hit the lock button five times. This will start the emergency call count down but once canceled the iPhone can only be opened via passcode. Caveat, you need to have the five press to call turned on in Settings>Emergency SOS>Call with 5 Button presses

I've always wondered why phones don't have a locked dowm "guest mode" that's accessible by typing in a non admin password/pin.

What an awful day.

Helpful reminder, you can click the phone lock or power button for the iPhone multiple times and it’ll lock and require your passcode log in.

With how dystopian our country is getting, and because of starting The Handmaiden’s Tale, you never know if you’ll be next. Stop using your social, birthday, spouse’s PII or whatever for your phone number combination passwords.

Buying phones with no thumbprint would be my next priority in life. No thumbprint, no camera.

I was thinking about face ID the other day. What if you trained it while making a funny face? So then you would have to make that face to unlock the phone and how could someone compel you to do so? It's sort of a 2-factor authentication in a way.

On iOS hold power and volume up until SOS/power off options appear. TouchID/FaceID is now disabled until the next time you input the code.

Also you’re experiencing some amnesia due to the stress of interacting with a cop.

Pro-tip: get a folding phone and use biometrics happily. If the cops come for you. Snap it in half. /S

Passcode, baby, I’m coming back to you!

Joke's on them. The fingerprint scanner on my Pixel 7 is so shit it doesn't work even when I want it to.

Just make sure to shutdown lock your phone before dealing with the cops, but also make sure to record your interaction with the cops cause they can and will lie. 🤷‍♂️

Kiss your 4th amendment rights good buy. Can't wait for "we are locking you up until you confess"

america is a joke. the 4th amendment is basically worthless. it's time to rise up

Sure but what about a dick print? Or even better, ball print?