Washington Post Raid Is a Frightening Reminder: Turn Off Your Phone’s Biometrics Now
The search warrant to raid a Washington Post reporter’s home shows how authorities can open your phone without your consent
#fourthamendment
#policestate https://theintercept.com/2026/01/30/washington-post-hannah-natanson-fbi-biometrics-unlock-phone/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
@MJmusicinears @hacks4pancakes
i'm not sure turning off biometrics is much safer. No one is going to choose a long alphanumeric password if they have to enter it literally hundreds of times per day. On top of that, turning off biometrics leaves you more susceptible to shoulder surfing attacks. i'm not sure what the answer is. Maybe using biometrics and practicing how to put the phone in safe mode on a weekly basis?
@dangoodin @MJmusicinears @hacks4pancakes On iPhones you can disable biometrics immediately by holding the power and volume buttons. Then the phone wont unlock without your passcode.
For those working in this space on an iPhone, they could consider enabling Lockdown Mode too.
@davidbcohen @MJmusicinears @hacks4pancakes
yes, lockdown mode is the best approach, IMHO. Practice putting your phone into it a couple times each week. Gain the muscle memory to do it quickly. And anytime you encounter a potential threat, use it. This seems like a reasonably safe trade-off, at least as safe as entering a passcode 100 or more times each day.
@davidbcohen @MJmusicinears @hacks4pancakes
Also, we security nerds often fail to provide instructions for locking down Android phones, which are used by many activists, lawyers, and dissidents. On Pixels, lockdown can be invoked by pressing the power and volume up at the same time, and then choosing lockdown.
A six digit PIN is safe enough on an iPhone. I've never enabled biometric authentication precisely because of how insecure it is and yes I do enter that PIN code a number of times everyday.
