by: 1vuio0pswjnm7

I have always thought biometrics on phones is just another way so-called &quot;tech&quot; companies perform data collection ultimately to be used for commercial purposes or any purposes deemed appropriate by the companies or their business partners<p>The companies are secretive so who knows what they are up to that we dont know about. What we do know is that these companies do not tell the whole truth when explaining their publicly visible conduct, including their data collection practices<p>For example, a so-called &quot;tech&quot; company might claim they need a user&#x27;s phone number for &quot;security&quot; purposes while the data actually serves other purposes for the company that the user might find objectionable if they knew about them (This actually happened)<p>The mobile phone has become a computer that the user cannot truly control. Companies can remotely install and run code on these computers at any time for any reason.^1 If the user stores data on the phone, the company tries to get the user to sync it to the company&#x27;s computers<p>If there are promises, e.g., about &quot;privacy&quot;, made by the companies, then these promises are unlikely to be enforceable. It&#x27;s rather difficult if not impossible to verify such promises are kept, or to discover they have been breached. Unfortunately, when the promises are broken then there is no adequate remedy. It&#x27;s too late<p>1. This unfettered access can be blocked but there&#x27;s been a culture that has emerged around actively doing the opposite. That the so-called &quot;tech&quot; companies are the primary beneficiaries is surely a fortuitous coincidence

1/30/2026, 9:43:56 PM

by: digiown

GrapheneOS has a nice feature where you can use both the fingerprint and a short passcode to avoid having to type out your longer&#x2F;more valuable password all the time. Seems like a good solution to the problem.<p>Also, iirc iphones have this feature where if you appear to be under duress, it will refuse to unlock and disable face id. Is this true?

1/30/2026, 8:11:40 PM

by: jp191919

Anyone in journalism should know not to be using biometrics. I use it, but know how to quickly disable it. If using fingerprint, you can always offer up the wrong digit, a few fails should make it fallback to pin.

1/30/2026, 8:15:24 PM

by: badc0ffee

Something that could come in handy: You can put iPhones into passcode mode by holding down a volume button + the lock button (the poweroff&#x2F;emergency mode sequence), and then cancelling.

1/30/2026, 8:01:22 PM

by: neonate

How is this different, legally speaking, from forcing someone to reveal their password? or at least to type it in?

1/30/2026, 8:20:33 PM

by: hollow-moe

Could you get charged with destroying evidence if you provided the duress password wiping the device when asked for a password ? You technically followed orders and didn&#x27;t even touch the device.

1/30/2026, 8:52:13 PM

by: 15155

Face ID doesn&#x27;t work with eyes closed, the warrant wasn&#x27;t clear whether or not <i>A Clockwork Orange</i>-style setup would be allowed.

1/30/2026, 9:59:54 PM

by: fortranfiend

Don&#x27;t use biometrics a pin has been shown to have more 5th amendment protections. Have your phone automatically reboot at a regular time every day. When your phone reboots a lot of the exploits that can get into your phone are locked out because they rely on reading the active memory.

1/30/2026, 9:09:42 PM

by: robotburrito

These phones need a kill expression or finger. If you touch a sensor with your left pinky or wink at the camera it nukes the phone.

1/30/2026, 8:13:00 PM

by: ChrisArchitect

Orig title was fine: Washington Post Raid Is a Frightening Reminder: Turn Off Your Phone&#x27;s Biometrics

1/30/2026, 8:26:58 PM

by: UltraSane

Samsung phones have the Secure Folder where you can use a different, more secure password. If you have the data encrypted it is very secure as the actual encryption key is stored in a secure element.

1/30/2026, 10:11:21 PM

by: guelo

I&#x27;ve been genuinely depressed about how fast the country is descending into strong man rule while half the country cheers it on. Which I think is their point, they want their political opponents to suffer at all costs.

1/30/2026, 8:31:16 PM

by:

1/30/2026, 8:49:50 PM

by: NoImmatureAdHom

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;NEjHU" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;NEjHU</a>

1/30/2026, 8:18:14 PM

by: buckle8017

Can the author even read?<p>&gt; The warrant included a few stipulations limiting law enforcement personnel. Investigators were not authorized to ask Natanson details about what kind of biometric authentication she may have used on her devices.<p>The warrant said they couldn&#x27;t demand she do those things, not that they couldn&#x27;t ask.<p>Makes me question the rest of the reporting.

1/30/2026, 8:56:40 PM

by: throw1771

[dead]

1/30/2026, 8:24:43 PM

by: rolph

dont just turn it off, physically disable it so the hardware aspect is unusable.

1/30/2026, 8:02:08 PM