Duress passcodes explained: How they work and why they can land you in court
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ZDNET's key takeaways
- A duress passcode wipes your phone instead of unlocking it.
- Only GrapheneOS on Pixel phones offers this feature.
- One man's duress code got him federally charged.
We're used to using PINs and passcodes to protect our tech, but lately people are learning they can also be used to wipe devices.
This capability is available in duress passcodes -- sometimes referred to as self-destruct passcodes -- and this is what Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta man, allegedly gave to a Customs and Border Protection agent during a stop at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in January 2025.
So, what is a duress passcode?
As the name suggests, this is a passcode or PIN that is entered into a device when the owner feels compelled to unlock a device but doesn't want to make the data on the device available to...
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