Help Encrypt my Phone

[tes151]

Is there a way to encrypt EVERYTHING on my Droid X so that a cop couldn't even see anything on it if they plugged it in to one of those scanners? A single password to unencrypt would be great.

 

[tes151]

Was the question too hard?

 

[wcndave]

I guess it might be... with Blackberry you just go to settings and select "encrypt", however not sure that you can do this with Android...

 

[quickaudi]

I'm not sure I even know what kind of "scanner" you are referring to...

 

[Doit2it]

There are a few encryption programs in the Market. Many have high ratings. I haven't had a use for them so I can't tell you how good / bad they are.

Of course, there are alternatives:

<......................Place Droid X here!

 

[colchiro]

Was the question too hard?

Maybe they didn't want to be an accomplice with what could be questionable activities.

Sometime this summer, someone encrypted their phone and it caused a lot of trouble for them. Sorry, I don't remember the details and what quit working.

 

[tes151]

I don't think it is questionable activities to disallow any law enforcement, or anyone for that matter, to be able to see anything on my phone. I've heard that in Michigan the state police have a way to plug into a phone and bypass passwords and such to see what is on your phone.

 

[javamann]

I make it a practice never to write anything on phone or computer that would embarras me if publicly available.

jm

 

[colchiro]

The only thing sensitive on my phone that I can think of would be my work email.

 

[quickaudi]

wasn't there a story recently where the FBI couldn't hack into an Android phone?

 

[Hrethgir]

I don't think it is questionable activities to disallow any law enforcement, or anyone for that matter, to be able to see anything on my phone. I've heard that in Michigan the state police have a way to plug into a phone and bypass passwords and such to see what is on your phone.

Even if they have that kind of thing, you don't have to give them your phone unless they have a search warrant. And if they have a warrant, then you would probably be legally forced to unencrypt it for them. Or they would just pull everything and unencrypt it themselves.

 

[quickaudi]

Even if they have that kind of thing, you don't have to give them your phone unless they have a search warrant. And if they have a warrant, then you would probably be legally forced to unencrypt it for them. Or they would just pull everything and unencrypt it themselves.

be difficult to do that - would violate your right to free speech and privacy, I'd think - unless you're a terrorist!

 

[javamann]

I hope you can afford the lawyer that will help assert these long forgotten rights of privacy. You can't even walk the streets w/o being photographed by some unseen camera. Wake up baby; this is the 21 century and big brother has the upper hand!

JM

 

[Hrethgir]

I hope you can afford the lawyer that will help assert these long forgotten rights of privacy. You can't even walk the streets w/o being photographed by some unseen camera. Wake up baby; this is the 21 century and big brother has the upper hand!

JM

And that's why I'm not handing my phone over without a warrant for it.

Cop- "Can I see your phone, sir?"
Me- "Do you have a warrant?"
Cop- "No."
me- "Then no, you can't have my phone."

Same thing with a car search. I have nothing to hide in my car, but I'm not just going to let a cop search it because he wants to. He's going to need legal proof that he has the right to search it. Illegal search and seizure, it applies to phones as well as cars.

 

[quickaudi]

I hope you can afford the lawyer that will help assert these long forgotten rights of privacy. You can't even walk the streets w/o being photographed by some unseen camera. Wake up baby; this is the 21 century and big brother has the upper hand!

JM

If only there were rights activist groups that take up these cases...

 

[Jaymoon]

The Cellebrite 'Universal Forensic Extraction Device' is what the OP was referring to, in a round-about way.

It's a device that takes minutes (or less, who knows) to make a complete copy of a cellphone. Michigan Police have been using these devices for quite a while now, and who knows what other law enforcement agencies too.

The specific details about what these devices do, or how quickly they do them, is a mystery, since the only people that have access to them are law enforcement agencies. Obviously they would like to keep the specifics hush hush.

I have similar concerns about encrypting my Android phone, and have noticed that in ICS (maybe GB or sooner too?), there is an "Encrypt Phone" option in the Security area in Settings. I'm charging my battery right now on my Galaxy Nexus to try out this feature, and see exactly what it does, and how much of a performance hit my phone takes. I already use a lock pattern (which I recommend EVERYONE use), so that "extra step" to get to my home screen is no big deal to me.

 

[colchiro]

If you have to factory reset, will your sdcard contents still be available? I honestly don't think it's worth the trouble or risk.

Just put on your tinfoil hat and learn to live with it.

 

[wiremanpac]

I see this is a very old thread but thought I'd put my two cents in: if you live anywhere within 100 miles of the border (including oceanic borders!), you live in a 'Constitution-free zone.' Big Brother can confiscate your goodies and search you/your vehicle without a warrant or probable cause. Rest easy, America.

 

[SteveD]

I guess I'm not allowed to post links as I am a newer member of this forum, but if you go to HiveMind and search for a post "Do the Police need a warrant to search your smartphone?" it will list out in which states police need a warrant to go through your phone and in which states they may not. I agree with a previous posted though - don't put anything on your phone that would be embarrassing or incriminating!