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this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026
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Privacy
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People, if you are taken into custody and are forced to unlock the phone and you wipe the phone instead, you are living in a fantasy world if you think you can't get in trouble for that.
Maybe that's worth it but let's not kid ourselves that there wouldn't be consequences.
Remember plausible deniability is a social concept not a legal one. It might of helped you get out of being grounded but it won't save you from jail time.
In matters where the judgement of the courts cannot be trusted and I would be jailed either way, I'd rather have the option to wipe my phone.
Like I said, maybe it worth it to you. Some people commenting like a distress pin is some sort of pancea.
That's why you need a second account the distress pin opens that looks like it's used for some stuff which leaves the rest encrypted.
There's always an XKCD
Not relevant. The distress code on Graphene OS wipes the data on the phone, not encrypt it. Can't give what doesn't exist
What you're trying to hide is information.
You're just shown them that you have information, and it's valuable enough for you to take pains to hide it.
They might not get it all, but they'll use the wrench to try.
It's just risk management. If the only record of incriminating or sensitive (contacts for journalists, gps history etc) is on your phone it's much better to get in trouble for deleting it than whatever else it implies or proves you or someone else did.
That is highly dependant on the country you do it in.
Depending on the case, the legal punishment of wiping ones phone in custody might be less than the legal punishment of not wiping a phone. It could be akin to Chelsea Manning taking 62 days of lockup for contempt charges instead of testifying.