"There is an apparently new iOS 18 security feature that reboots iPhones that haven’t been unlocked in a few days, frustrating police by making it harder to break into suspects’ iPhones

Apple added “inactivity reboot” code in iOS 18.1 that triggers iPhones to restart after they’ve been locked for four days"

    • TheTechnician27
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      1023 days ago

      iPhones suck. This is still an objective improvement to them and currently an advantage over Android. Hatred and blind hatred aren’t the same.

        • TheTechnician27
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          523 days ago

          That’s super cool! I guess I should’ve expected that. Still unfortunately means you need to be a Pixel owner and to have installed a non-default OS, which is an extreme minority of Android users – compared to iOS 18.1 blanketing every 12th-or-later-gen iPhone.

    • @Zron@lemmy.world
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      823 days ago

      Every time the phone reboots, it disables biometric unlocking until the correct pin is entered.

      Most hacking tools that police have access to take advantage of the weaker security found in the biometric unlock mode.

      By randomly restarting, the phone’s storage stays fully encrypted until the correct pin or passcode is entered, which is far more secure as it takes either a brute force attack to guess the correct pin, or a court order compelling the person to provide the pin or passcode.

      Fun fact, in the United States, a pin or passcode is considered private property, and the police can’t legally force you to provide it without a warrant. However, your face or fingerprints are not considered private property, and they can and have used biometrics to unlock phones without user consent or a warrant before.

      If you ever get stopped by the cops, make sure to reboot your phone so they have a harder time finding incriminating evidence.

        • @bamboo@lemm.ee
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          122 days ago

          This disables biometrics, but doesn’t delete the decryption key in memory. This is sufficient to prevent being compelled to unlock with biometrics, but with the decryption key in memory, it is still possible to access data via an exploit. A full reboot deletes the decryption key until the user enters their pin.

        • nocturne
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          123 days ago

          You just have to click the main side button several times (10?).

          5 times locks it.

      • @lud@lemm.ee
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        123 days ago

        Is it hard to get a court order? I can’t imagine it would be much harder than a house warrant.

  • Ghostalmedia
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    223 days ago

    Last week it was theorized that iOS 18 would reboot after 24 hours if it lost connection from the internet. That would be even better, since it would fuck people trying to work around FindMy.

      • Ghostalmedia
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        123 days ago

        Thieves, authorities, crazy ex, anyone.

        FindMy will allow you to remotely secure or wipe the device. But the device needs to be online to get that request to lock or wipe from iCloud.

        • @Link@rentadrunk.org
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          123 days ago

          Surely the user could just take out the SIM card and that would prevent it from ever connecting to the internet?

          Sure it could connect over Wi-Fi still but the chances of it being next to a network it has connected to before are very slim.

            • Ghostalmedia
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              123 days ago

              Yea, eSIM is starting to take over the contemporary phone market.

              • JWBananas
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                223 days ago

                The last 3 generations of iPhone released in the US do not have physical SIM card slots at all.

                • Ghostalmedia
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                  123 days ago

                  Yeah, and a bunch of other manufacturers were quick to follow.

                  I’m still on the fence of whether or not this is a good thing. In this scenario, it’s a pro. Cops or crooks can’t remove a SIM if there is no physical SIM.

          • Ghostalmedia
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            123 days ago

            That’s my point. People try to keep stolen or confiscated phones from reaching the cloud. Many have proposed a faster auto-reboot for phones that aren’t online. Maybe reducing it from 72 hours to 12 or 24.

      • Ghostalmedia
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        123 days ago

        Yeah, it will wipe if it’s locked. It wipes as soon as it gets the request from cloud. So immediately if it’s online, or if it’s unable to reach the internet, it wipes once it connects to a cellular or wifi network.