But even if that's the case, there's no way to tell if a duress pin was used, right? And if you're in a place with weak legal processes and they decide possibility=guilty, then the duress pin doesn't make things worse, right? I.e. if they wanted to do something to you, then "lack of evidence due to duress pin" is no different than just "lack of evidence" i.e. the pin at least doesn't make things worse...
Increasing the extreme and cruelty of violence. It always works. That also means the "investment" of each action will have higher stake, though.
It is not an intimidating thought experiment, it is being used in the 2026 Iranian Protest by the IRGC
i.e. whatever they do to you if you wiped the phone via duress PIN, they would already do to you if you managed to smash the phone.
It could be used in a situation where that infinite escalation of violence isn’t likely to happen.
E.g., a petty thief who says “gimme your pin”
Once they have the phone unlocked they don’t care that it’s wiped.
Did he wipe his device? Or did I get the wrong guy? I'm convinced he had the information, so whether he used the duress PIN or not I'm going to go through with the torture...
Also, even if you're right, then that would mean that the duress PIN is useful in places that aren't Iran right? Like the US? Canada?
https://grapheneos.org/features#duress
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By the way, another way GrapheneOS protects against this is by allowing automatic reboot after a period without unlocking, which can be set to a very short period. This puts the phone in BFU (before first unlock), where fingerprint and face unlock do not work, and the phone is much harder to hack with tools like Cellebrite.
But other situations like against thievery, domestic abuse, or brute force deterrent (ie: setting a simple duress code that is likely to be triggered, say 1111), it has the potential to work well.
Graphene brings out some of the best of android. Profiles are first class citizens, private spaces within the owner profile (I think all profiles can have them now?), and app pinning are great.
For me, a expanded duress feature would be unlocking into a fake home screen/instance where my banking apps or messenger apps are not available, but otherwise the phone works. Or even unlocking into a mostly empty phone.. but wiping the main instance in parallel.
As someone who had their passport forcibly taken away while on foreign soil, when you are at the mercy of deranged people every option has its value. The key is to have those options… better than none at all.
Duress PIN is a feature started by security systems. Entering the dress code would seam as if the security system was disabled while in the background it would contact the security company to send in the police.
