What To Do If Police Try To Search Your Phone Without a Warrant

blottsie writes: The Supreme Court ruled this week that it is illegal for police to search your phone without a warrant. But just because that's the new rule doesn't mean all 7.5 million law enforcement officers in the U.S. will abide by it. This guide, put together with the help of the EFF and ACLU, explains what to do if a police officer tries to search your phone without a warrant. Of course, that doesn't mean they don't have other ways of getting your data.

What about a "cell phone extraction device"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Google: police cell phone extraction device

There were a bunch of stories about gadgets that could scoop up everything from your cell in about 2 seconds.

So I wonder if those devices will still be used - at the side of the road.

Lock Screen

[smurd]

Ok, so who wants to be the first one to write an Andriod lock screen that states:

• I do not consent to a search of this device.
• This is illegal as per SCOTUS Riley v. United States.
• Any search will be prosecuted criminally or civilly.

Legal protection, and reality

[ptudor]

Most people involved in a pre-textual motor vehicle stop and issued a warning for a trivial non-offense won't know to say the magic words that begin their legal defense: "Am I free to go? Why am I being detained?" and when the polite officer says, "Well, I'm sure you've got nothing to hide, let me search your vehicle, and no matter what I'll make sure you're on your way quickly," many quickly hope compliance is their best option in the short-term.

So they say, "Yeah, go ahead," instead of the alternative, "I do not consent to search and invoke all protections afforded me by the Constitution; while I am cooperating within those constraints, please advise me promptly when I am free to go."

You'll get searched anyway, whether it's your phone or your car. You might get arrested anyway. But having invoked your rights instead of freely waiving your rights gives the defendant ample opportunity to assert their innocence in court without having already accidentally proven their guilt without the benefit of counsel.

I expect most people, despite the Supreme Court ruling, will find their phones searched anyway; consider stop-and-frisk in New York City. Please set a passcode on your device, preferably alphanumeric instead of a simple PIN, and avoid interacting with law enforcement, they have better things to do than read a neckbeard hacker's text messages to his mom about picking up more Mountain Dew at the store.

(Nevermind Border Patrol checkpoints in the US or Customs/Immigration interviews...)

(IANAL.)

Re:Castle doctrine

[NotDrWho]

I prefer to let some other guy die for our freedom, and then celebrate his memory.

I want a hotword to lock & start recording

[swillden]

My phone is always listening for voice commands, which is great for things like making calls, sending messages, starting navigation etc., but I want a new command specifically for situations like this: "OK Google Now: Lock and Record". It should lock my phone and start a continuous video and audio recording which is streamed to a server somewhere. Even better if it's a separate hotword so I don't have to say "OK Google Now" first to warn the officer I'm about to screw with his plans to screw with me.

If I can activate it by voice, it won't matter whether the phone is locked when it's taken from my pocket. And with the recording, I'll have proof that I did not consent to the search. Streaming will ensure that proof can't be accidentally destroyed by, say, dropping my phone just before a cruiser happens to roll past.

Re:Be polite

[spiritplumber]

This is hard to do if you've taken a vow of hospitality. I've had a very surreal conversation about that with a cop one time. On one hand, I specifically said that he did not have my permission to enter my house, on the other, since he knocked on my door, he'd get a meal out of me. Fortunately the guy was Catholic and eventually understood what I was saying or we'd still be there looking at each other funny.

Re:Be polite

[fustakrakich]

I would say, do not step outside. It puts you on their turf. Talk through the screen door or a window.

Re:Be polite

[bobbied]

Nope, step out and close the door, unless they tell you not to.

The reason I'm saying this is because they can use their eyes, ears and noses. So they can look at what is visible behind you and listen to what's going on in the house behind you. If you go outside and close the door and step away from the house, they are not getting the "free" albeit limited search while they talk to you and that gives them less opportunity to "invent" a reason to search.

I'd also figure that the police would be less threatened by stepping away from the house because you are putting the "unknowns" of what's inside further away from them. On that note, you want to make sure you make no threatening looking moves. That means you keep your hands visible and sit down if possible, speak respectfully and stay calm.

Re:Castle doctrine

[Anonymous Coward]

My phone is encrypted. They could never access anything in it unless I were to hand over the rather lengthy password.

The best thing to do in any situation where cops are trying to search and/or arrest you is to say "I don't consent to any searches and I want to speak with my attorney", then shut the fuck up and stay quiet. Cops love it when people talk to them, just remember you are under absolutely no obligations to say a single work to a cop. I ignore them all of the time and they fear people who know when to keep quiet and when to walk away (if you are not under arrest and you ask if you are free to leave and get any response other than "no", then you can legally walk away and there is nothing they can do about it).