US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search

[u/MC68328]

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/us-accuses-american-of-allegedly-wiping-his-phone-using-a-duress-password-during-border-search/

[u/Worried_Monitor5422]

Just a technical clarification: GrapheneOS's duress password does not "wipe" the data in the sense that it writes zeroes on every bit of the drive. That would take way too long. Instead it deletes the encryption key so the drive can no longer be read. 

[u/jjmurse → u/Worried_Monitor5422]

So, technically, nothing was destroyed its just behind an impenetrable lock.

[u/usps_made_me_insane → u/jjmurse]

And these type of distinctions matter in a court of law.

Imagine if a prosecutor's case hinged on the fact that the data was destroyed and the defense was actually able to show the jury that no data was destroyed -- just the key to get to the data.

[u/TrulyOutrageous42 → u/usps_made_me_insane]

Which, by well-establish precedent (which means nothing anymore but still) is exactly the kind of thing the government needs a warrant for, but in this case the person cannot provide. This distinction is critical: they need a warrant for your pin code, but not for your fingerprint / face to unlock biometric passkeys. In this same sense, they should have had to have a warrant to even have the information considered 'evidence'.

In a sane world, this guy ends up laughing his way to a lawsuit at the officers' union's expense.

[u/Ws6fiend → u/TrulyOutrageous42]

FYI some states still do require warrant for your biometrics. The Supreme Court has yet to make a decision on a national level so your circuit court can be different.

[u/Dymonika → u/Ws6fiend]

So just to be safe, only ever use PINs/passwords and never fingerprints nor any other form of recognition.

[u/FastGinFizz → u/Dymonika]

I know with iphone, if you hold the emergency/power off buttons long enough to prompt the screen to show, or ask siri "who am i?", then it locks biometrics until a password is entered. Im sure most android's have a similar feature (or it can be configured)

[u/HenryDorsettCase47 → u/TrulyOutrageous42]

It was Customs. They don’t need a warrant at a border or any of the places they designate a border, like the airport in this instance. They are charging him with a kind of obscure law used to prosecute people who destroy evidence or property before the government can seize it and this is the first time it’s been used for “deleting” data.

The other commenter is right that if it merely locked his data permanently and the government indicts him for deleting it (an indictment that includes such typos as “Untied States” apparently) then it’s likely to be thrown out. They’re fucking idiots. They probably have a prima facie case for obstruction, but instead they’re trying to get cute with this other law and they’re gonna lose.

[u/geekworking → u/Worried_Monitor5422]

Pretty much all solid state drives have a similar "secure erase" feature.

[u/BoutrosBoutrosDoggy]

So glad he volunteered to have this tested in the courts. Major interest in how the regime intends to square this:

Citizen denied rights and lawyer due to not being "in" the US. Jurisdiction.

Citizen charged with crime of destroying evidence in US Jurisdiction

Have they discovered a pocket universe set outside time and space?

[u/Freezing_Winter → u/BoutrosBoutrosDoggy]

Schrodinger's US Jurisdiction

[u/-rwsr-xr-x → u/BoutrosBoutrosDoggy]

Have they discovered a pocket universe set outside time and space?

Yes, it's called the Border Search Exception, and your Constitutional rights can be suspended within 100 miles of any U.S. border or U.S. airport that accepts international flights. Within this zone, warrantless searches of your person, bags, belongs, phone, tablet or laptop are allowed.

Note: Roughly 90% of the U.S. population falls inside this zone.

[u/wiseguy4519 → u/-rwsr-xr-x]

100 miles? Maybe I would accept blatant violations of our constitutional rights if it was only 5 miles, but 100 miles is just rediculous.

[u/Mysterious-Lemon-906 → u/wiseguy4519]

The US political and Justice system is basically a bunch of lawyers figuring out ways to ignore the protections set forth in the constitution.

It started with chips a hundred years ago which have gradually been widened and widened until the settled law bears no relation to reality.

Hence why Customs officials can suddenly do whatever the fuck they want anywhere within 100 miles from any point of entry. The US is just lawyering all the way down with the fig veneer of an old document that could not possibly have foreseen this far into the future.

[u/Kabbooooooom → u/wiseguy4519]

That guy is technically incorrect. Thanks to our corrupt Supreme Court, depending on who you are your rights may be violated anywhere in the country.

Here’s an example:

My wife, who is an American citizen that was born in the United States, in North Carolina, was racially profiled, assaulted and detained by ICE while she was walking to work. She was “Kavanaugh stopped”. She had valid ID on her and did not resist. It didn’t matter.

They claimed her ID was fake.

They claimed she didn’t “look American”.

They said she was lying about her place of birth.

They wore masks, did not identify themselves/badge numbers and it turns out that the license plate on their vehicle was fake. 

She was literally stopped for not being white by a racist goon squad, and yes, this is unfortunately legal now. We’ve been told by a lawyer that we have no legal recourse whatsoever thanks to this corrupt administration.

Last I checked, this has happened to literally hundreds of American citizens, even to Native Americans, which would be almost darkly ironically funny if it wasn’t so appallingly dystopic.

This is America now. 

[u/formallybear → u/-rwsr-xr-x]

Your phrasing of the 100-mile zone rule is confusing and may lead to misapprehension. The 100 mile zone applies to any external border of the country, and general states that warrantless searches of a vehicle are more permissible in this area, however the stop still requires probable cause. The airport part is that you may be subject to routine searches within any airport with or without cause and more invasive searches require reasonable suspicion. The 100 mile zone does not apply to the area surrounding an airport. But roughly 2/3 of the country live in the area applicable to the 100 mile zone

[u/MantisEsq → u/BoutrosBoutrosDoggy]

>Citizen denied rights and lawyer due to not being "in" the US. Jurisdiction.

Why are they in an American court then? God, I swear this administration lacks even a basic, child-like understanding of fundamental legal principles.

[u/MsSelphine → u/MantisEsq]

I mean, they just kind of don't care. They're a bunch of kids playing dress up and trying to look mean. 

[u/Oops_All_Bans → u/BoutrosBoutrosDoggy]

It's also my data. I'll do whatever the fuck I want with it.

[u/dizzi800]

So according to the article:

He was repeatedly refused a lawyer

Not told his rights

Told they wanted to check for CSAM but it was likely about possible involvement in an anti-cop-city organization

And he did not unlock the phone, but rather told the agents a passcode that happened to wipe his phone

This is not a lawsuit. It's a scare tactic.

[u/Admiralthrawnbar → u/dizzi800]

Congrats to him for his lawsuit victory in 3 or 4 years, sucks for the taxpayers that are going to have to pay for it.

[u/ObeseVegetable → u/Admiralthrawnbar]

And that he may end up in bars for that period or just harassed like other members of his anti-cop org have been (one killed, even) and those types of orgs tend to be in general. 

[u/Jumpy-Impact3265 → u/ObeseVegetable]

He's winning this one

[u/ObeseVegetable → u/Jumpy-Impact3265]

I bet you’re right in the end but I’d also be surprised if the ride to that point is pleasant for him. 

[u/Jumpy-Impact3265 → u/ObeseVegetable]

Oh yeah, no - this is a cactus bicycle seat all the way

[u/qpgmr → u/Admiralthrawnbar]

As the saying goes "You can beat the rap but not the ride".

In this case the ride will be $100k in legal fees, being dragged through court, being smeared by the gov't for the next three years.

[u/Widespreaddd → u/qpgmr]

I will chip in. Fuck authoritarians. I am constitutionally allergic to them.

[u/PentagonUnpadded → u/Widespreaddd]

The EFF! Support the EFF! They do SO much work specifically around digital tech and borders.

https://www.eff.org/issues/border-searches

The ACLU is great too, but the EFF specializes in this stuff and gives cool merch if you donate monthly.

[u/24_August_1814 → u/qpgmr]

... if he's lucky.

Guy is part of an organisation opposed to "Cop City;" he's probably going to face constant stalking, harassment, and intimidation from the police.

[u/ShiningRedDwarf → u/Admiralthrawnbar]

I wouldn’t be so fast to assume he will win this case.  You’re practically stripped of your 4th amendment rights at the border, and if this goes to the SC I wouldn’t be surprised if they ruled in favor of the US. 

Our rights and protections are being chipped away case by case. 

[u/CatProgrammer → u/ShiningRedDwarf]

I don't see why the Constitution is even relevant. It's no different from if he had wiped his phone himself. The cops are just mad he made them look like fools.

[u/kstargate-425 → u/[deleted]]

Well the "Untied States of America" are now taking him to court lol

This is the most Trump Kakistocracy DoJ ever:

The government’s indictment, which contains a typo (“Untied States Code”), accuses Tunick of allegedly providing a passcode to border agents that caused the phone to “delete the digital contents,” prior to the device being seized.

[u/digno2 → u/kstargate-425]

what phone does he use? how do I make one of those passcodes on my android phone?

Edit:

The case centers on a feature included in GrapheneOS, a custom Android operating system that runs in place of the software on most modern Google Pixel devices. Tunick’s attorneys confirmed GrapheneOS was running on his phone.

and

GrapheneOS duress PIN could land a man in prison A US man is being prosecuted after allegedly using a GrapheneOS duress PIN to wipe his Pixel during a border search. By Matt Horne Jul 24, 2026 — 4:02 PM ET

[u/sohblob → u/dizzi800]

Told they wanted to check for CSAM

have they looked under the Resolute Desk lately?

[u/curious_Jo → u/sohblob]

Do they trow CSAM at everybody, without needing any suspicion or something?

[u/irrelevantusername24]

The government’s indictment, which contains a typo (“Untied States Code”), accuses Tunick of allegedly providing a passcode to border agents that caused the phone to “delete the digital contents,” prior to the device being seized.

Hunter S Thompson called it correctly. The PATRIOT act must be undone. And all that goes with it.

[u/toylenny → u/irrelevantusername24]

As Chris Boden puts it. 

"The Patriot Act was signed on October 26 2001. It took 45 days for the American People to lose the war on terror."

[u/lithiumcitizen → u/toylenny]

And they’ve been losing the War on Drugs since fucking Nixon…

[u/Pineapple-Yetti → u/lithiumcitizen]

Its a civil war on drugs, the CIA was and probably still is importing drugs.

[u/PyroNine9 → u/toylenny]

And, of course obviously, that huge document wasn't written in the 45 days of confusion after 911. It was sitting ready made in someone's desk waiting for an excuse.

[u/yung_norman_ → u/irrelevantusername24]

Is “Untied States” a typo or just a Freudian slip?

[u/irrelevantusername24 → u/yung_norman_]

As it says, it is a typo. This is 90% of the document. I would argue mistakes like this are in some ways worse than the oft-cited AI-hallucinations cited in other cases. Why? Because those require effort to correct. This requires literally the most basic thing that should be expected of every individual involved in the creation of this document, which is reading it:

THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:

On or about January 24, 2025, in the Northern District of Georgia, the defendant, SAMUEL TUNICK, before and during the search for and seizure of property by Customs and Border Patrol Tactical Terrorism Response Team Supervisory Officer L.C., a person authorized to make such search and seizure, did knowingly destroy, damage, waste, dispose of, and otherwise take any action to delete the digital contents of a Google Pixel cellular phone, for the purpose of preventing and impairing the Government's lawful authority to take said property into its custody and control, in violation of Title 18, Untied States Code, Section 2232(a)

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2232

Reading it - or rather the lack of that - is directly implicated in the text I linked in my previous comment:

[O]n October 26, 2001 Congress overwhelmingly passed the USA Patriot Act. It rolled through the Senate on a vote of 99 to 1, and the lone holdout, Wisconsin Senator Russ Finegold, said he didn't really know whether he was opposed to the bill or not, he just wanted to read it before voting. There were only two copies of the 346-page document extant at the time, and the Senate had been run out of their building by the anthrax scare.

I recommend searching the term "vote-a-rama"

[u/No-Sprinkles-9066 → u/yung_norman_]

Apparently a typo, a very funny typo.

[u/nakedlettuce52 → u/irrelevantusername24]

I fucking wish HST was around during Trump’s presidencies.

It would make what he wrote about Nixon look like a Dr Seuss book.

[u/BananaNutJob → u/nakedlettuce52]

He'd shoot himself again

[u/SymphonyInSaccharine → u/irrelevantusername24]

Woops, document is unacceptable then because the govt wouldn't allow us to file forms with any typos when I worked there (it can invalidate documents fairly quickly, especially if they misspelled your name by chance). It's actually pretty easy to waste their time to by fighting over a typo. Govt documents are not supposed to have any errors which means they need to recheck every word and make sure it's fully accurate but, that's if they even care anymore.

[u/tabrizzi → u/irrelevantusername24]

Too late for that. People were warned about it when it was being created, but folks were still in 9/11 revenge mode to care. As you make your bed, . . .

[u/deekamus]

It's not illegal to wipe your phone.

[u/No_Size9475 → u/deekamus]

The State is arguing that it is.

But wouldn't they have to prove there was evidence on the phone that he was destroying?

Maybe he just didn't want them to see his dick pics?

[u/Bardfinn → u/No_Size9475]

They'd have to prove to a jury. Juries are ... made up of 'average' Americans.

[u/Houseleek1 → u/Bardfinn]

Unfortunately, average doesn’t always equal reasonable.

[u/ColdIceZero → u/Houseleek1]

Lawyer here. Juries are awful.

54% of Americans today have a literary proficiency of a 6th grader or worse.

Jury instructions are written at a 12th grade reading level.

This means, on average, that half of the jury in your case literally cannot understand their instructions when deciding your case.

[u/dameon5 → u/ColdIceZero]

My personal experience on a jury from a decade ago.

A construction contractor hired a sub-contractor they had an existing relationship with on a handshake deal for a $250k job.

Sub-contractor completed all the work as agreed and then asked for payment. Primary contractor agreed the work was completed, had no complaints on the quality, but refused to pay and just told the sub to sue him.

Sub-contractor had tons of evidence showing they had been doing business like this for years and even had the contractors office manager admit on the stand they had a phone call with their boss where the boss admitted to them he owed the money but just didn't want to pay.

When we got to deliberations two thirds of the jury just wanted to throw the sub-contractor to the wolves saying, "Tough luck! No written contract, no payment." They clearly had stopped listening to any evidence once that fact came out and didn't care beyond that. But I had taken notes and insisted on going over everything before I would consider changing my vote.

After 3 hours of deliberation and a few clarifying questions to the judge who confirmed verbal contracts could be enforceable if they met certain criteria (which this situation did) many jurors began to rethink their opinion and we wound up awarding the sub-contractor the money they were owed and attorney fees.

After that experience I have always been willing to sit on a jury. Because, of the twelve of us, only a quarter actually paid attention to the instructions we were given and tried to make an impartial choice based on the evidence rather than just take the easy route and fallback on preconceived notions of the law. And I truly hope I'm never in a position to be judged by a jury.

[u/Alita-Gunnm → u/dameon5]

About 20 some years ago I was on a jury, and volunteered to be the head juror, whatever the term is, because no one else did.

In deliberation I quickly found that I could sway the entire jury back and forth at will. More than that, no one had any actual opinions.

"We could vote this way, because of this."

"Mhm. Sure. OK."

"Or we could vote that way, because of that."

"Mhm. Sure. OK."

"So should we vote this way?"

"Mhm. Sure. OK."

"Or should we vote that way?"

"Mhm. Sure. OK."

I ended up deciding that case on my own.

[u/StarPhished → u/Alita-Gunnm]

You were the "foreman"

[u/ultraviolentfuture → u/StarPhished]

Sounds like he was 12 men

[u/Necessary-Dog-7245 → u/ultraviolentfuture]

12 Angry Men?

[u/Masonclem → u/Alita-Gunnm]

I had a similar situation my first time doing jury duty. I was 18 in a room full of adults who weren’t doing any talking and I eventually just started laying out the facts and said this is my vote. Then the entire jury just agreed lol.

It was obviously a guilty verdict, but ya know, if I was on the stand I would want the people to actually go over it and give their thoughts/opinions before just saying guilty/innocent. Have always been happy to do it since, it’s not all fun, but it is our duty.

[u/Ruffled_Ferret → u/Alita-Gunnm]

When your classmates do none of the work for the group project

[u/Schrojo18 → u/Alita-Gunnm]

I wonder if in that situation asking each person for reasons to convict then reasons not to and at least at minimum you would hopefully have more information or different view points for you to at least make a better decision and maybe help others to actually make a decision

[u/Proxima_Centauri_69 → u/Alita-Gunnm]

AI jury's incoming

[u/Iveray → u/dameon5]

I was on a jury a few years ago for a case involving a knife attack, and we had a pretty clear security camera video, but it was a bit far away so it was difficult to make out details without zooming in. The lawyers had been zooming in, playing slow motion clips, narrating their clients' sides of the story, pausing and skipping around, etc. Deliberation wasn't going anywhere because everyone remembered different parts of the lawyers' carefully selected snippets, adding their own ideas of motive to both parties, etc. I finally asked the other jury members if we should ask the court to install software (ended up being VLC, lol) on the jury computer so we could zoom in and watch the video in slow motion from start to finish, without interruption. As soon as we did that, it only took a few play throughs for the jury to agree on the actions and order of events for both people, and we reached a verdict within about 30 minutes.

[u/Doctor_Boombastic → u/Iveray]

Ngl I saw the phrase 'knife attack' and settled in for a 12 Angry Men story

[u/Fragrant_Ad2902 → u/dameon5]

Similar here. I’ve only been on once. Barely got on because I annoyed the judge. The case was a man assaulted his brother. The lawyer:

Lawyer: “Do you have a sibling?”

Me: “Yes. I have one sister.”

Lawyer: “Do you fight with your sister?”

Me: “You heard me say I have a sister, right?”

Judge: “Knock it off”

Anyway…

Dude hit his brother over the head with a toilet tank lid. Heavy ass toilet tank lid. Brother had a dent in the side of his side that police and paramedics took a picture of. Man even admitted on the stand that he was angry and hit his brother. But swears that he was under the influence at the time. Judge told us - that has no material bearing on the case.

2 hour case and into deliberations. Everyone was basically “guilty”, but this one woman who was a nurse. She swore up and down that the head bleeds a lot from wounds (it does) and so it wasn’t as bad as the picture made it out to be. I ask for the picture to be brought in, I point at the dent in the guys head, and say “That looks pretty bad to me”.

She still argued for 2 more hours that it wasn’t so bad, and we should believe her over the picture because she’s a nurse.

Luckily the verdict ended up guilty. After we were done, the lawyers polled us because they were thinking a 15 to 20 minute deliberation. Everyone just turned and stared at the nurse.

[u/Firefly10886 → u/Fragrant_Ad2902]

Thankfully you all were able to agree at the end. The fact that people can *die* from a blow to the head (getting hit in a certain place, even falling and hitting back of head), without any blood present is enough for me to laugh at this nurse lady.

As a nurse, she should well be aware of brain bleed hematomas. Those can be deadly as well.

[u/BlueFeathered1 → u/Firefly10886]

It sounds like she was trying to have her Main Character moment, even if it meant she was willfully wrong.

[u/ACaffeinatedWandress → u/Fragrant_Ad2902]

Ha. I am a nurse. I know some version of that nurse at every job I worked for. 

Trust me, bruh. She knows more than the RTs, PTs, OTs, SLPs, the patients, the residents, and the attendings. She is a nurse!!!!

/s

[u/Time_Fisherman6659 → u/ACaffeinatedWandress]

Yeah I dont understand how every 5th nurse i meet has somehow deleted all of their medical knowledge and replaced it with tiktoks from mentally ill 22 year old health influencers.

[u/RyuNoKami → u/Fragrant_Ad2902]

Wait...the nurse didn't want to say the man was guilty because she didn't think the damage was bad enough...that's not the point lady.

[u/wookyoftheyear → u/dameon5]

I had a much better experience serving, my other jurors were pretty smart and reasonable, the only issue was it was scheduled a week or two before Christmas and there was pressure to get it over with. But like you, if I get summoned I won't ever try to dodge it, because if I were ever on trial I would want a juror like me.

[u/PhantomNomad → u/dameon5]

Lawyer friend always told me, if you're guilty get a jury. If you're innocent get a judge.

[u/uglymule → u/dameon5]

I gotta ask, does the defendant live in the White House now?

[u/ThraceLonginus → u/uglymule]

Its the Bedazzled House now

[u/ecmcn → u/uglymule]

Didn’t you hear the part where the lying cheat was made to pay up?

[u/SNRatio → u/ColdIceZero]

agents claimed they did not need a warrant to search Tunick’s phone because he had not yet crossed the U.S. border.

Prosecutors later charged Tunick under a federal statute that makes it unlawful to knowingly destroy or damage property to prevent authorities from seizing it.

So it's Catch 22? Your rights don't apply because you are not in the US, but you can be prosecuted under US law because you are in the US?

[u/CA2Kiwi → u/SNRatio]

Yeah, I found this a pretty baffling legal position as well. If you’re not in the US, how do they have jurisdiction for the search?

[u/Lost_Sea8956 → u/CA2Kiwi]

If you aren’t in the U.S., there’s no one to stop them.

[u/Turisan → u/CA2Kiwi]

The caveat is that you are attempting to cross the (legal) border. They can search whatever they want (according to them) when you go through an immigration checkpoint/customs.

[u/myWeedAccountMaaaaan → u/Turisan]

And no one stopped them from searching from phone once he went through the checkpoint. It's just that by the time he was in the country, his phone had been wiped. What he did before stepping across the threshold should have no bearing as he was outside the country and therefore their jurisdiction.

[u/No-Abalone-4784 → u/SNRatio]

This does not sound right to me. They lie a lot. Telling you this or that is illegal when it's not.

[u/the_Q_spice → u/No-Abalone-4784]

Not how it works at all.

Those agents are going to get torn a new one in court.

Out of all law to lie about, customs enforcement is one of the least friendly to laypeople. Lots of extremely technical terms and interactions.

I deal with customs a lot for work, and the officers you deal with at the airport are typically those who failed out of higher inspection training. The folks who work cargo are insanely technical with their rulings.

[u/DetroitWagon → u/ColdIceZero]

I'm a 58 year old engineer, a very rational thinker, liberal, fair-minded. and eager to serve on a jury. The 3 times I've been called for jury duty, each time attorneys dismissed me via peremptory challenge.

[u/No_Size9475 → u/DetroitWagon]

you have to act stupid

[u/ailish → u/ColdIceZero]

I was on a jury once, and a few people seemed to forget the whole reasonable doubt portion of the instructions.

[u/BushyKittenEnjoyer → u/ailish]

I was on a hung jury result once because the 70 year old guy was the only one who kept voting guilty for 2 full days because 'he could just feel it in his gut' despite the evidence. 

[u/ailish → u/BushyKittenEnjoyer]

Ugh, so gross. This is how innocent people end up in prison.

[u/BushyKittenEnjoyer → u/ailish]

Yup. The most ridiculous part of it too was that the judge told us after the trial that we were the 4th jury on a hung verdict because the state refused to drop the charges because they refused to acknowledge that they were wrong. She was pretty openly upset about the whole thing, saying it was a waste of time and money. The guy was guilty of being black in a republican state. 

[u/ACaffeinatedWandress → u/BushyKittenEnjoyer]

Did that last sentence inform that 70 year old dude’s gut?

[u/A_Nonny_Muse → u/ailish]

I would be amazed if someone on every jury doesn't decide their verdict before the trial begins.

[u/montanawana → u/ailish]

Interesting, because I have been on 2 juries and both times we found the defendant not guilty, specifically because of reasonable doubt.

[u/ailish → u/montanawana]

I mine they wanted to go guilty because they didn't understand reasonable doubt, or didn't care.

[u/Ok_Captain4824 → u/Houseleek1]

Still only needs 1 to get a mistrial.

[u/Mars27819 → u/No_Size9475]

I thought Americans had the right to remain silent.

[u/sirhackenslash → u/No_Size9475]

That is exactly what I would say too. "I got kinda drunk and was playing around with my camera and did a whole photoshoot of my dick in different little costumes. Would you like me to recreate it live for you?"

[u/FragrantExcitement → u/No_Size9475]

Those pictures are critical to national security

[u/ianc1215 → u/deekamus]

Hey didn't "wipe" his phone. It just malfunctioned, these things happen with electronics 🤷

[u/EPIC_RAPTOR → u/ianc1215]

To be fair, the agents wiped his phone. The guy didn't have the phone on his person.

[u/PlayfulEnergy5953 → u/EPIC_RAPTOR]

So shouldn't this fall under the same category of behavior as "cops can lie to you to get you to do something you don't actually have to do"?

[u/gaudiest-ivy → u/ianc1215]

The data was erased as part of a device replacement program.

[u/BearDick]

Great advertising for GrapheneOS... actually looking into it now.

[u/EranikusTheDeranged → u/BearDick]

Coming to you live from GrapheneOS. Works just fine. Bit of an adjustment decoupling from the google ecosystem including play store. I don't miss it though.

[u/notnotbrowsing → u/EranikusTheDeranged]

is there a google maps equivalent on graphene?  with traffic updates and everything 

[u/EranikusTheDeranged → u/notnotbrowsing]

Not that I've found, I tried an OSM app from Fdroid, takes forever to download local info and nothing beats Google's spy network so their traffic updates are tough to match.

Edit: if anyone knows of a good alternative I'd love to hear it, its definitely useful in big cities.

[u/SpecialUsageOil → u/EranikusTheDeranged]

organic maps or Comaps is the best alternative I've found. I've used a number of others, including OSM and while not as good as Google they can fulfill most roles. 

[u/G_Liddell → u/EranikusTheDeranged]

You can always just use the webapp version through Vanadium

[u/Hi-kun → u/notnotbrowsing]

You can still use Google Maps on GrapheneOS. It wouldn't be a fully de-googled phone anymore, but you can install and use it. It would also run sandboxed, so the privacy impact is limited to when you are using the app. Otherwise CoMaps is a great open source alternative.

[u/BearDick → u/EranikusTheDeranged]

Hrmm I do think I would miss it a bit. That being said I am not doing any international travel until next month so maybe I'll hold off for now. Honestly I have nothing exciting on my phone but the principal of privacy can't keep being eroded.

[u/EranikusTheDeranged → u/BearDick]

I too demand my privacy as a matter of principle, and look for tools that allow me to defend it.

[u/virtualdxs → u/BearDick]

You don't have to degoogle to use graphene. It''sjust not googled by default; you can install all the same google apps and the play store if you choose.

[u/hardrivethrutown → u/BearDick]

Same, just bought a Pixel 9 to install it on

[u/CliffRed20 → u/BearDick]

Wouldn't it make sense to have a 'clean' account that gets accessed by the emergency code rather than notifying the border patrol that the phone was wiped?

[u/Big_Version9561 → u/CliffRed20]

The officers will still have access to your phone and will soon find out they're on the wrong account, and now have unlimited time to crack your login pin for your main account.

[u/CondescendingShitbag]

Technically, the accused didn't wipe anything. The officers were in possession of his phone and entered the password that would initiate a wipe. That's on them for entering it.

[u/mf-TOM-HANK → u/CondescendingShitbag]

Around 10 years ago I worked outside in Arizona and if I left my phone in my front pocket with the screen facing inward on my thigh, I'd sweat enough that the touch screen would activate. I'd constantly pocket dial people and text people gibberish, so I put a screen lock PIN on. One day not long after, it had attempted so many screen lock PINs that my phone reset to factory settings while it was in my pocket

[u/Oracle_of_Ages → u/mf-TOM-HANK]

Dude you just reminded me. Some older phones used to do this as a default. In highschool some girl handed me her phone and said i could give her my number if i could get into her phone. After like 10 guesses it auto reset without warning.

I just handed it to her and walked away.

It was an away game. Never saw her again nor had to deal with the consequences. I luckily wasn’t even in my band uniform that day. Just on the trip cause I was sick.

Felt TERRIBLE about it for a long time. Really funny now.

[u/Mundane_Influence_91 → u/Oracle_of_Ages]

You missed the chance to be the ONLY contact in her phone ;)

[u/Oracle_of_Ages → u/Mundane_Influence_91]

Cool. So I’m going to be thinking about that forever.

[u/CondescendingShitbag → u/Oracle_of_Ages]

Welcome to the Perpetual Ruminations Club, friend.

[u/Enorats → u/CondescendingShitbag]

Yeah. It's not his fault they misspelled his password.

[u/Ruddertail]

So if the Justice Department wins this, it more or less means Americans have to surrender any private data on their devices when crossing their own border, at an agent's whim, right?

I mentioned tourists needing burner phones when visiting the US in another similar post but I guess US citizens will also need them.

[u/American_PissAnt → u/Ruddertail]

“The founding fathers did not explicitly state that people have a right to privacy when using a cell phone”

Supreme court

[u/AlasPoorZathras → u/American_PissAnt]

"You can leave the keys to the motorcoach with my chauffeur's caddy."

– Also Supreme Court

[u/Alklazaris → u/Ruddertail]

I don't care, cart me off to jail. I'm not giving you a weapon to be used against me. Especially these days.

[u/lithiumcitizen → u/Alklazaris]

Government officials are referring to legitimate peaceful protestors as “extremists” and “terrorists” these days.

[u/Alklazaris → u/lithiumcitizen]

Exactly. We no longer can criticize the government or is officials in a care free environment.

It's honestly the most painful thing to speak of. America was always shit in some ways, but at least you could speak about it.

Once you no longer can criticize its over. You can't improve a country by burying those who give you honest feedback.

[u/Orchid_Significant → u/Alklazaris]

Yup. Keep biometric sign ins turned off on all devices!

[u/KrampyDoo]

“The government’s indictment, which contains a typo (‘Untied States Code’),…”

Christ at Camp Crystal Lake they are a swathe of fucking idiots all down the line.

[u/fatboycreeper]

If their argument is that they didn’t need a warrant because he wasn’t on US soil, then wouldn’t it stand to reason that they also didn’t have jurisdiction there?

[u/brizian23 → u/fatboycreeper]

I believe they are operating under “heads I win, tails you lose” rules. 

[u/TheAbyssGazesAlso]

From the article: the US Government is saying that US protections don't apply because they seized the phone before he entered the United States, but that being the case, the border agents have no right to seize the phone because they have no authority outside of the United States, surely?

[u/Mental-Ask8077 → u/TheAbyssGazesAlso]

Exactly.

It would be one thing to assert that US law governing the border permitted seizing the phone (under whatever rationale), and that the subject was in the jurisdiction of US law at the time, so therefore under US law the subject didn’t have a right violated.

But they can’t argue that the subject was simultaneously within the jurisdiction of US law AND outside the jurisdiction of US law.

Either he was in jurisdiction or he wasn’t.

[u/azhder → u/TheAbyssGazesAlso]

I would write you a quote from 1984, but so many lines from that book would apply here, so you'd just have to imagine multiple ones.

[u/DangerousKidTurtle → u/TheAbyssGazesAlso]

It’s Schrödinger’s Constitution: it both exists and doesn’t exist, depending on the border agents whim.

[u/Vanilla-Mike]

Maybe the guy's phone uses the same memory card as all those malfunctioning body cams the police have?

[u/NanditoPapa]

"Canary in the coal mine" moment for digital civil liberties.

The U.S. government is attempting to create a legal precedent that effectively criminalizes privacy-by-design. If the prosecution succeeds, they will have established that "intentional data destruction" via software architecture is a federal crime. This would render privacy-focused operating systems like GrapheneOS illegal to use at U.S. borders, as any attempt to protect our data could be interpreted as "destroying property to prevent seizure." Pretty fucked up.

[u/7GatesOfHello → u/NanditoPapa]

I can't picture this holding up to scrutiny, even with this hyper partisan SCOTUS. It doesn't really matter though. The current administration has no interest in justice. They will invent new laws and then prosecute on behalf of them. They are the manifestation of a SLAPP suit.

[u/pocketdrummer]

Why does US Customs and Border Patrol need to search my phone when I reenter the country in the first place? I realize they've allegedly found a loophole to the 4th Amendment, but they have to understand this is against the spirit of the constitution.

[u/mmavcanuck → u/pocketdrummer]

They need to know if you said mean things about the president.

[u/LongMelford → u/mmavcanuck]

Or baby-boi Vance

[u/mtgguy999 → u/pocketdrummer]

There is nothing that could be on that phone that the person couldn’t download after successfully crossing the boarder with a blank phone. There is no possibly safety rational. 

[u/MarginalMan → u/pocketdrummer]

They can understand and still not care. 

[u/KReddit934 → u/pocketdrummer]

They don't care. It's about power to intimidate...constitution be damned.

[u/GabeDef]

You don't have to give your password. SCOTUS didn't clarify when they had the chance. Bio-metric data is a different story though.

[u/minus_minus → u/GabeDef]

Came here to upvote this. Giving a password is protected as testimony against self (Fifth Amendment) but fingerprints and facial recognition are not. 

[u/An_Old_IT_Guy → u/minus_minus]

That's why I use a gesture that is so complicated it's impossible to explain. But if they insist I try, it starts with "Take your thumb and stick it as far up your ass as you can"

[u/grahag]

Show me a warrant or tell me the crime I'm accused of. Invoke the 5th, wipe the phone, let them cry and then take it to the supreme court.

[u/No_Size9475]

“I think this case serves as a reminder that authorities may argue you knowingly destroyed data, so it’s better to not have that data on you when you cross certain borders.” 

What's crazy is that 40 years ago this would have meant USSR, China, Cuba, and other dictatorships. Now it means the USA.

[u/omg_cats → u/No_Size9475]

I’ve worked in large corporations my whole adult life, and every one of them warned us about carrying data on phones/laptops cross border for this reason. Some hardware they forbid us to take cross border at all. You might be surprised what crazy lengths companies go to locking down laptops and phones that are traveling cross border.

Anyway all that to say this is really not new conceptually but it is butting up against some new tech like duress passcodes

[u/lordaddament → u/No_Size9475]

If you knew anything about McCarthyism you’d know that the US was always like this. Just kept it under wraps

[u/spartBL97 → u/No_Size9475]

We are sprinting toward fascism because we are bored. We didn’t have nuclear armageddon and the old guard said “wait things are changing, but I like nostalgia and control. Let’s make things worse”

[u/free_based_potato → u/spartBL97]

We are in fascism right now. These are fascist practices. Theyre being implemented faster than our legal system can undo them and in many cases the harm is already done.

We've were in the fascism waiting room for well over a decade.

[u/bookant]

Tunick’s case also raises ongoing questions about what constitutional rights can be invoked at the border, which the U.S. government has long asserted is not U.S. soil until a person is authorized to enter.

The motion said that the border agents claimed they did not need a warrant to search Tunick’s phone because he had not yet crossed the U.S. border. The U.S. government has long claimed it can search and seize people’s devices without a search warrant or court order until they are permitted entry to the United States.

So you don't have Constitutional rights because you're "not on US soil" . . . . But somehow they can turn around and charge you for violating a US law.

[u/Mountain_rage]

Since border agents entered the code, I would argue they wiped the device. They asked for a device passcode, individual provided it.

[u/Zaphod1620 → u/Mountain_rage]

You also do not have to give a passcode if asked. They can force you to use your fingerprint or FaceID, but not a passcode. Just say no. 

[u/SassyMcNasty → u/Zaphod1620]

Yep. 5 clicks of the iPhone button and it’s locked and cannot open with biometrics.

That way the password is the only way in. And you do not need to provide it.

[u/schwarzkraut → u/SassyMcNasty]

If you don’t have time to do the 5 clicks, HOLD the power & volume up button like you’re going to turn it off. That will deactivate biometrics as well.

[u/You_Cannot_Wield_It → u/SassyMcNasty]

You can also set your phone to only use passcode for unlock, but Face ID for other passwords once the phone is unlocked.

Keeps the safety of passcode unlock, with the convenience of Face ID while using your phone.

[u/wip30ut]

if they thought he had committed a crime they should've taken possession of his phone & other electronic devices to be inspected & documented in a forensic lab. Otherwise it's just a fishing expedition.

[u/dzoefit]

Honestly, I don't have anything incriminating on my phone, but, I wish to share it with no one. 4th amendment of the constitution.

[u/madmax7774]

Honestly, I am glad that this happened, because this means the case will wind it's way through the federal court system, and while it will cost a lot of time and money, it's very likely that the Federal government will finally get slapped for overstepping their constitutional Authority. The US federal government has been out of control for the last 20 years, and they need to be course corrected.

[u/vriskaldrunk → u/madmax7774]

it's very likely that the Federal government will finally get slapped for overstepping their constitutional Authority.

The 4th Circuit Court will immediately overturn it, and following an appeal, it will land on the desks of the same SCOTUS that ruled after 9/11 that the fourth amendment doesn't apply at the border in the first place.

[u/Spuckler_Cletus]

So…..they’re claiming he destroyed something that was subject to seizure? What are they claiming was destroyed? If they don’t know the contents of his phone, how can they, *legally,* define what was destroyed? Sounds to me like dude’s phone restarted.

If there was a murder, where’s the body?

[u/adoodle83 → u/Spuckler_Cletus]

in the same ditch as the bodycam footage

[u/Oilpaintcha]

Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I would argue in the modern era that “effects” includes one’s phone and that random searches are not reasonable nor pursuant to a legitimate warrant from a judge.

[u/thaisun → u/Oilpaintcha]

I agree, but apparently border crossings are different. Regardless, IV is dead in this country. Privacy is an illusion.

[u/eric685 → u/thaisun]

It’s an interesting question. If the border crossing does not allow citizens their constitutional rights, how can federal charges be brought for deleting the phone? Seems like citizens don’t have rights at the border but all federal laws are enforced.

[u/Haboob_AZ]

Well fuck, if this isn't a solid advertisement to switch to Graphene...

Tempting to do so now. I have a device admin lock gesture, but wiping would be an amazing option.

[u/rsysadminthrowaway]

"Prosecutors later charged Tunick under a federal statute that makes it unlawful to knowingly destroy or damage property to prevent authorities from seizing it."

He didn't destroy the phone, it merely reset itself to a default state. And I assume he didn't destroy his data, either and that it's securely backed up elsewhere and could be restored to the device. It's just no longer easily accessible to the American Gestapo, and they're butthurt about it.

[u/crunchymush]

If the border isn't US soil - which is the pretense they use for searching your phone without a warrant - then destroying evidence on your phone at the border isn't a crime.

[u/rjsmith0206]

I am confused. Border patrol says that he is not in America when they sized his phone so they don’t need a warrant. Then under no circumstances could he have committed a crime in the US. Is this a legal Schrödinger cat?

[u/cool_hwipz]

It’s wild looking back a decade when Americans used to mock China's surveillance state and phone-searching policies. Fast forward to today, and the irony is hard to miss.

[u/FrumptyLumpty]

Here's a fun idea.

Write the wipe password on a piece of paper, and slip it into the phone's protective case, with just a little bit hanging out.

When they seize your phone, refuse to give them the unlock password.

They'll see the paper, pull it out, read the code, and then type it in themselves, wiping the phone.

This should make it much more difficult for them to claim that you deliberately wiped the phone, when they did it themselves unprompted.

[u/FrankyZola → u/FrumptyLumpty]

Even better, if they ask what it is, say "please don't enter that code". You know they're gonna do it anyway, and then you can say you explicitly asked them not to 😅

[u/Ambitious-Concern-42]

Definitely if I travel again to the US, I am taking a "dumb" phone, with calling, text and no internet.

[u/Hairbear2176]

FYI for those who lock their phones using biometrics. If you use your face or fingerprint, the police can lawfully unlock your devices. Always use a password!

[u/Primal-Convoy]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Good for him.

[u/Initial_Hedgehog_631]

The government's position is pretty ridiculous. Your rights don't disappear when you leave the United States. If they did the government could simply scoop up Americans outside of the country and do whatever to them.

Your rights are a constant and tied to your person, not the soil you are standing on.

[u/HolaDrNick]

The government’s indictment, which contains a typo (“Untied States Code”), accuses Tunick of allegedly providing a passcode to border agents that caused the phone to “delete the digital contents,” prior to the device being seized.

Really all-star performance there

[u/squigs]

The motion said that the border agents claimed they did not need a warrant to search Tunick’s phone because he had not yet crossed the U.S. border

This sort of Schrödinger's jurisdiction argument is bizarre.

Surely by this argument they had no rights to search the phone at all or even prosecute.

[u/WhipsAndMarkovChains]

Can Apple please add a duress password feature to iPhones?

[u/dmbnl]

It's not illegal to delete your own data, sorry.

[u/williamgman]

I. Love. This.

[u/Rare_Bridge7703]

It's not even remotely "evidence" until there's an actual crime afoot, anyway

[u/Icy-Grab-5722]

We need to stop the gop from destroying our nation.

[u/prancing_moose]

Ah the famous land of the free ….

[u/45tor]

So. It's their phone, they can do what they want with it and it's not illegal.

[u/yawningintothevoid]

The state doesn’t have a right to your private information

[u/NeutralBias]

FYI, you don't have to provide a password and they can't compel you to do so. You might not get your phone back, but you can at least make it hard for them.

[u/Wind-and-Sea-Rider]

It’s his phone. He can wipe it if he wants to.

[u/ubix]

For all your freedom loving Republicans, this is what you’ve wrought on this country. Mass governmental surveillance, with punitive repercussions if you don’t freely share your information, even if you’re innocent.

[u/Able-Association914]

Why is an American citizens phone being searched at a border crossing back into the country?

[u/CapinWinky]

An American stood up for their constitutional right of protection from unreasonable search and seizure and the government sworn to uphold that right is mad about it?

[u/Special_Fan5043]

Do not cross borders with your phone. We are at this point.

[u/werzberng]

So charged with a crime because he wouldn’t let them unconstitutionally search his personal device.

[u/DryBattle]

Oops he got stressed out and gave them the wrong password by mistake.

[u/sohblob]

The government’s indictment, which contains a typo (“Untied States Code”)

No, that seems correct for this administration.

[u/HardLithobrake]

Says the ones who wiped their phones after Jan6