Reword the Duress PIN description to make it obvious for non-technical

horde

https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/grapheneos-emergency-pin/32356

note: by emergency PIN, the user means Duress PIN.

This post reminded me that most non-technical users that don't keep up with GrapheneOS's social accounts miss some technical details of new features added and can accidentally try a new feature that appeared after update just to "try it and see what it adds/does".

The description in the GrapheneOS's setting is not clear compared to the website.

"Submitting the duress password will immediately make the storage contents permanently inaccessible, delete all eSIMs and then power off the device. GrapheneOS will remain installed."

Website description:

https://grapheneos.org/features#duress

"will irreversibly wipe the device" is very common and will make sense to almost everyone regardless of their technical background than "storage contents permanently inaccessible".

My suggestion is:

Submitting the duress password will irreversibly wipe the device and make the storage contents permanently inaccessible, delete all eSIMs and then power off the device. GrapheneOS will remain installed.

Which will give slight warning about the "wipe" and content being "inaccessible" forensically (data can't be restored by forensic means).

23Sha-ger

The current description is better. Your suggestion "will irreversibly wipe the device" sounds like it will become a brick.

LeslieFH

23Sha-ger This is not "his suggestion", this is how GrapheneOS team describes it on the website at https://grapheneos.org/features#duress

23Sha-ger

LeslieFH

I quoted the wrong thing, I meant to quote "permanently inaccessible" :)

irreversibly means without option to recover data.
Permanently sounds like a softbrick, e.g. bootloader wipe.

DeletedUser499

Either phrasing spells it out clearly.
Use the duress password or pin and you are back to square one, with an empty phone.
With GrapheneOS still installed