Court Says It’s Fine for Cops to Use Cell Phones to Peep into People’s Cars | Hacker News Reader

Court Says It’s Fine for Cops to Use Cell Phones to Peep into People’s Cars

techdirt.com

30 pointsrntn9 comments

The actual decision was discussed days ago:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36764489

tldr: police use phone to see through tinted window

How can phone cameras see through tinted windows?

Also, FWIW, in most of the EU, tinted windows are banned on the windshield, driver and front passenger side. Only in the rear and back seat can you put the tint.

Flashlight

Same way that humans can see into a darker room through a window when you put your face up to the window and cup your hands around your eyes.

You block out as much reflections as possible, and then the camera can increase exposure significantly. It looks dark to us since there's not much light coming through, but there still is some light. So if you take a photo over the course of a second or two, that tinted window suddenly appears transparent. (Same idea as when taking photos as night).

In the US it varies by state.

https://www.raynofilm.com/blog/automotive-window-tint-laws-b...

if you look at coca cola with an IR sensative device [most camera modules] under a wash of mostly IR light the cola is transparent like water.

same issue occured a while back with clothing.

the window tint is transparent to IR.

Also:

in alaska this would be thrown out, tinted windows demonstrate expectation of privacy, and artificial means, are being used to observe private property in violation of curtilage. private property on public place, does not become public, particularily when expectation of privacy is demonstrated by obstruction of access.

Out or curiosity, why should drivers expect privacy at the wheel? It's definitely not a thing in the EU as police should be able to see who's driving and in what condition through the window. Also window tinting lowers your visibility as a driver putting others at risk, meaning it's much easier to not see a toddler or a cyclist.

this is not at the wheel, this is about a vehicle parked in front of the owners home, a violation of 4th amendment rights occurs in the event of a "just because i want to" search.

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