Hacker News Reader

Comment by onion2k | Hacker News Reader

Android (stock at least, but likely other flavours too) allows you to have multiple users on a device. Swipe down from the top a couple of times, then press the little blue User icon and set up a different user with a pass code for things you want to remain private. You could happily unlock your phone for the default user without giving up any private data.

It's not a method of securing anything as it's just obscurity, but very few people would know about it or bother to look. It's very useful for having 'work stuff' and 'personal stuff' on one device.

View on HN

If you aren't careful, you could end up getting charged with lying to police. That's a serious charge.

Lie to police: Felony. Police lie to you: Doing their job.

Hit police: Felony. Police hit you: Doing their job.

Break into police computer: Felony. Police break into your computer: Doing their job.

I should see what the police pay for computer jobs. Everything extremely illegal becomes legal if I am police.

this is Norway, the police have 3 years of training, and don't carry firearms..

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Police_Service

So it doesn't compare to the systemic issues you have in the US. Besides what are they going to do if you don't unlock...? Give you a fine?

It's called the state monopoly on violence.

I like the idea of dual booting with vanilla Android and CopperHeadOS. CopperheadOS could also have TrueCryptesque steg volumes. This would allow one to divide their testing and more sensitive data in different profiles. More importantly, you could turn off your phone and it would defaultly boot into the vanilla Android volume (especially good for customs/boarder crossing/TSA). Let me know if you want to help me prototype this :)

A prototype exists from 2013 https://www.ccsl.carleton.ca/~askillen/mobiflage/ but if something like this became popular they would just find ways to discover the 'hidden' partition and force you to open it anyway, or make flashing consumer devices illegal or something.

i don't really think they would, at least for a long time; these pushes only come when the measures they address have become trivially easy or default practice. most jihadis have no particular tech expertise, but anyone can install telegram (for example). doing some fringe deep nerd shit like dual booting with a steg volume on your phone will probably never be popular enough to warrant legal reaction, barring specific high-profile instances popping up in the news.

I've never understood why its legal, then, for police to lie to people.

Undercover police and police lying is most a US phenomenon... It doesn't make much sense..

Yes, undercover police is used in other countries, but there are many restrictions and limitations. The US however is pretty big on what other countries consider entrapment - especially, in fictional TV series :)

Because the police are acting with a broad social authority, while you are acting with only your individual authority.

Is lying to police a felony in Norway? I think it's not generally a crime in most of the west, though not a right that would override other statutes either.

A quick Google suggests that Norway might have laws against false explanations... But you're not required to explain anything.

Also unlike the US such things aren't used as evidence of guilt, not are they punished by major prison sentences..

Which is why I suggest to STFU to the police.

You and every lawyer.

Why would you need to lie? You're not even forced to say anything besides your name and address. Silence is your right.

And what about once police get trained on this, open the prompt for another account and say "now unlock this one"?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com