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Apple Quietly Introduced iPhone Reboot Code Which is Locking Out Cops (www.404media.co)

submitted 6 days ago by Stopthatgirl7@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

264 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Apple quietly introduced code into iOS 18.1 which reboots the device if it has not been unlocked for a period of time, reverting it to a state which improves the security of iPhones overall and is making it harder for police to break into the devices, according to multiple iPhone security experts.

On Thursday, 404 Media reported that law enforcement officials were freaking out that iPhones which had been stored for examination were mysteriously rebooting themselves. At the time the cause was unclear, with the officials only able to speculate why they were being locked out of the devices. Now a day later, the potential reason why is coming into view.

“Apple indeed added a feature called ‘inactivity reboot’ in iOS 18.1.,” Dr.-Ing. Jiska Classen, a research group leader at the Hasso Plattner Institute, tweeted after 404 Media published on Thursday along with screenshots that they presented as the relevant pieces of code.

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[–] DJDarren@thelemmy.club 2 points 5 days ago (3 children)

I’m currently in a weird thing with Apple. I’ve been using Macs since ‘07 and iPhones since ‘10, and while they make absolutely incredible hardware, I’m sick of how much they rip off their customers, and I’m sick of being able to see the ways in which they adapt software to push you towards the thing that makes them the most money.

As a result I have an M2 MacBook which is the best laptop I’ve ever owned, and I’m close to putting Asahi on it to see if I can use that flavour of Linux as a daily driver. Come February, when my iPhone 13 mini is due for upgrade, I’m giving serious consideration to picking up a used Pixel 8 so I can use Graphene instead.

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 5 days ago (2 children)

On a pixel 8 running graphene right now, I love it.

[–] DJDarren@thelemmy.club 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Did you switch to it from Android or iOS? Because as someone who's only used iOS since 2010, I imagine it'll be one hell of a shock.

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 days ago

Android. It might be a shock, but it's great once you get used to it. I completely degoogled and went with apps that don't spy, which was the hardest part, but you could set up a separate user profile for spyware stuff like snapchat or whatever. It might be beneficial to go ahead and get one, flash it, and use it with wifi or a prepaid sim for a bit while you still have your regular phone as a backup/main if you're worried about the transition.