Join us 2026-07-31T19:00:00Z for This Week in Privacy #64, to catch up on the latest Privacy Guides updates and to discuss trending news in the privacy space.
During the livesteam we’ll answer viewer questions. If you have a question for us, please leave a comment in this forum thread or the YouTube chat.
Members please leave your questions for us and we will try to get them answered first during the livestream
Please be aware that by posting here your post will be displayed on the YouTube stream.
Streaming Platforms
You can join the link above when the stream starts to watch and chat in the livestream without an account.
We will also be streaming from the following platforms:
I can see both sides to the Graphene duress situation.
On one hand, the person requesting/seizing the phone could see this as knowingly destroying evidence. They don’t know what’s on the phone, but they know the data was “flushed down the toilet” after requested. If they have actual cause of concern (e.g., a known criminal), then their reaction makes sense.
But on the other hand, the border protection agency doesn’t seem to have any strong legal footing to request this data in the first place. Destruction of evidence laws typically involve actual criminal investigations (fraud, drugs etc) and the “CSAM” pretext seems like a magic hand wave to demand anything.
I’m hopeful this case sets a precedent in favor of duress PINs, but even if he wins, border protection will just tighten their policies get around this.
Moral of the story: know your rights and prepare your phone to be empty and/or boring if concerned about border customs.
Y’all - CBP has full authority to search any and all devices and personal effects, of US citizens and other travelers, at the border. The Fourth Amendment has a “Border Search” exception as, until any person makes it past CBP, they are have not been admitted to the US.
Which means that if a CBP agent wanted to search a phone, they can. Their PC was because it’s legal to do so. The duress PIN used like this is likely to result in bad times for this guy because it’s specifically the only way in which one could destroy evidence at a border checkpoint, short of eating your phone. This was an idiotic thing to do.
Don’t cross borders with stuff on devices you don’t want searched. Anywhere! Ever! FFS, people!
Edit: Literally how a Gizmodo article about the same case ends. This isn’t hard, people. This guy’s ego got the better of him, and his defense is a question of if the pull aside was legal in the first place.
I do have a duress pin on my phone, but I probably won’t ever use it. Instead, I have my phone set to reboot into “before first unlock” condition every hour. They can’t force me to remember my pin.
