police going through phone ?

[halfwaydown]

i was discussing with someone earlier how i was deleting stuff off my phone like pictures and disabling social media accounts for when the police search my phone after ctb. i know the police (at least in england) take your phone after a suicide as evidence so assumed they'd just hack into it or something and go through it. however, my friend seems to think if my phone has a 4 digit passcode (which it does) they wont be able to get in and that i shouldnt worry about deleting stuff. does anyone know anything about this? can the police get in my phone or not?

 

[Interloper]

They probably can if they really wanted to, but unless you're a high profile case/family pushes for it/your method includes illegal substances, I don't think they'll bother.

If it's a concern, just start the factory reset process right before you ctb.

 

[cambrai33]

Factory reset won't clear the phone of data it can still be accessed by someone with the right tool.

My advice is to break up your personal phone and dump it in a public bin, thereafter use a cheap phone for the ctb process. Of course any messaging can also be recovered from this phone too but the amount of data will be limited

As mentioned before it's difficult and would only be done if you are of particular interest but a factory reset is still a wise step to take

 

[myopybyproxy]

If you jump or drown as your method, turn off the phone's location feature and take it along - seems unlikely to survive the physical damage and that way you needn't deal with the hassle of a second phone. If you're wary of using it to call or text someone lest panic override your decision, toss the SIM card - unsure what it is called - the chip inside the phone that allows calls and internet. Any other phone data - where exactly is it stored? - will be in the phone, which will be destroyed at T-0.

 

[GentleJerk]

This question gets asked a lot. Whether or not they will depends on the circumstances. But yes, they can access locked phones and computers, and it is not difficult at all.

If in doubt, wipe and/or destroy.