Post by @tonytins@pawb.social

2026-10-03 23:42 UTC

Cops Can Bypass iPhone’s Automatic Reboot to Get Into Locked Phones, Leaked Video Claims A company that makes phone hacking devices claims to have developed a solution that freezes iPhones in a state that lets cops more easily access sensitive data inside them, according to a video obtained by 404 Media. This is the latest salvo in the never-ending battle between Apple and companies that help cops — sometimes those in authoritarian countries — break into iPhones. In November 2024, 404 Media revealed Apple quietly introduced a new feature in iOS that automatically reboots an iPhone that has not been unlocked for 72 hours. The idea behind this so-called “inactivity reboot” is to revert the phone to a state that makes it harder for police to break into the device, and thus extract sensitive data from it with forensics technology. At the time of Apple’s change, law enforcement agents expressed concern about this new feature, given that oftentimes they can’t immediately try to break into iPhones that have been seized. That could be because police are still waiting for a court authorization to do so, or there is simply a backlog of devices to unlock, for example. Archive: ghostarchive.org/archive/DuJxb

Replies (8)

@NateNate60@lemmy.world 2026-10-03 23:54

In the US, if cops get into a phone before a warrant, even if a warrant is issued later, all evidence from the phone is suppressed as illegally obtained. This is a bigger concern with respect to intelligence agencies who conduct mass surveillance.

Open ##4981264
@JiveTurkey@lemmy.world 2026-10-04 03:24

If only we could see what apple was doing under the hood. If only companies that constantly pat themselves on the back for being secure could be open source.

Open ##4981842
@trailee@sh.itjust.works 2026-10-04 00:34

If Apple really cared, they would make it so that a Shortcut that performed the Reboot action was allowed to run on a schedule, unattended. But no, that’s specifically disallowed.

Open ##4982121
@othermark@lemmy.world 2026-10-04 01:52

Bring back the power hard switch. Problem solved.

Open ##4982793
@lemmyng@lemmy.world 2026-10-04 01:03

So, y’all gonna switch to GrapheneOS now?

Open ##4984586
@paraphrand@lemmy.world 2026-10-04 05:16

Well, I expect this to be patched asap now that it has leaked. Apple has been quick to patch things when such leaks happen. Hopefully that’s the case here too.

Open ##4986429
@roserose56@lemmy.zip 2026-10-04 07:09

Cops in USA? Is this only for USA? If yes, I don’t care. The article tittle suggests police all over the world.

Open ##4990445
@weps@lemmy.world 2026-10-04 09:09

but that’s only needed when apple doesn’t give access to the phone which they just do when there’s a warrant cops have no problems getting in iphones there’s just a little delay sometimes they still have all the hacking technology too

Open ##4996533