Cops Can Bypass iPhone's Automatic Reboot to Get into Locked Phones
Magnet Forensics has developed new technology to bypass Apple's 'inactivity reboot' feature on iPhones. This tool allows law enforcement to access data on locked devices that would otherwise be protected by Apple's security protocols.
Why it matters
This development escalates the ongoing conflict between consumer privacy protections and law enforcement's ability to conduct digital forensics.
A company that makes phone hacking devices claims to have developed a solution that freezes iPhones in a state that lets cops more easily access sensitive data inside them, according to a video obtained by 404 Media.
This is the latest salvo in the never-ending battle between Apple and companies that help cops — sometimes those in authoritarian countries — break into iPhones.
In November 2024, 404 Media revealed Apple quietly introduced a new feature in iOS that automatically reboots an iPhone that has not been unlocked for 72 hours. The idea behind this so-called “inactivity reboot” is to revert the phone to a state that makes it harder for police to break into the device, and thus extract sensitive data from it with forensics technology.
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