Apple quietly introduced code into iOS 18.1 which reboots the device if it has not been unlocked for a period of time, reverting it to a state which improves the security of iPhones overall and is making it harder for police to break into the devices, according to multiple iPhone security experts.

On Thursday, 404 Media reported that law enforcement officials were freaking out that iPhones which had been stored for examination were mysteriously rebooting themselves. At the time the cause was unclear, with the officials only able to speculate why they were being locked out of the devices. Now a day later, the potential reason why is coming into view.

“Apple indeed added a feature called ‘inactivity reboot’ in iOS 18.1.,” Dr.-Ing. Jiska Classen, a research group leader at the Hasso Plattner Institute, tweeted after 404 Media published on Thursday along with screenshots that they presented as the relevant pieces of code.

You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments View context
42 points

Lawyer. Not true.

Example: An officer pulls someone over and suspects them of something arrestable. Then says “Do you want me to get your personal belongings from your car?”

Any person agreeing to this allows them to hold your phone as evidence indefinitely in the US now.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
*

That’s all lawful.

They can search you and the area when arrested. They can search the car if they have probable cause that evidence will be in the vehicle

I said have a warrant or seized lawfully, not nust have a warrant.

Edit: I didn’t even write what I said I said correctly. Corrected it lol.

permalink
report
parent
reply
16 points

Seized or not, they can not force you to unlock your phone via pin without a warrant. They can only force you to use biometrics.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

Right, but this is about them bypassing you entirely.

They don’t need your fingerprint or pass code if they can bypass it themselves. This feature protects you when they’ve seized it lawfully which can be for many reasons.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Other people answered, but to your point, in some cases THEY CAN compel without a court order.

Biometrics don’t conform to certain laws, and it gets even more complicated if you’re entering the US through customs. They can practically hold you indefinitely if you don’t comply. Whether you have legal representation is sort of an after thought.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Technology

!technology@lemmy.world

Create post

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


Community stats

  • 17K

    Monthly active users

  • 6.1K

    Posts

  • 131K

    Comments