Apple has introduced a new security feature in iOS. While it may not be entirely new to those in IT, it functions similarly to rebooting a device to resolve issues. This feature automatically reboots iPhones after three days of inactivity if the device has not been unlocked for 72 hours. This measure helps prevent attacks, such as attempting various combinations to unlock the phone or attempting to install remote backdoors by actors. That's my guess on its purpose. More https://www.404media.co/police-freak-out-at-iphones-mysteriously-rebooting-themselves-locking-cops-out/
@nixCraft It's not theory. By rebooting it goes to a "before unlocked state" which means encryptions aren't decrypted yet, things aren't accessible even to the owner, etc etc. Once you first unlock your phone after a reboot it unlocks access to your data and there are then potentially ways to gain access to that while the phone is still powered up. By rebooting it loses this. Android has a before unlocked state too when rebooted. It's not really about rebooting to fix anything, just to switch back to that.
I actually keep wondering if there is any way to get Android devices to do this. In some ways I almost would rather that just simply locking the screen sent it back to a before locked state even.
Closest I know of is lockdown mode, but it doesn't unmount encryption.
@nazokiyoubinbou yes, that makes sense. customisable value (or even random time) would be more suitable. Pixel phone may get such feature soon and I hope other vendor will port it out their older firmware too.
@nixCraft 72 hours isn't bad, but yeah, you're right. Customizable wouldn't hurt. Apple's usual policy with anything is "we know what's best and you'll go along with it and you'll like it and sing our praises for it even if you hate it." My bet is that for Android this might make it into third party ROMs fairly quickly. Vendors are a bit less... quick to bother with security features. Or anything that isn't shiny for that matter.
@nazokiyoubinbou @nixCraft GrapheneOS already had this feature before Apple ever implemented it
@bippzy @nixCraft I knew it sounded familiar, but I didn't see it in LineageOS so shrugged it aside. I couldn't use Graphene since I needed root and they are dead-set against it (I know why they don't like root, but I do maintain that supporting it built in with controls is actually safer than refusing to and forcing people to use methods that ensure they don't get that potential extra security, but that's a different subject I admit.)
Graphene is nice for security in general, but I guess it will be more meaningful when this sort of thing makes it into LineageOS and, hopefully into mainline Android itself.