Google Pixel user in court over the functionality of his custom ROM

A US citizen is on trial because he used a special security feature of his smartphone’s custom ROM during a border check. The device deleted all stored data. The case could have far-reaching consequences for data protection.

Data deletion at the border

The US Department of Justice is charging US citizen Samuel Tunick with allegedly deleting his smartphone during a border check at Atlanta airport in January 2025. To do this, he used a special function of the custom ROM GrapheneOS installed on his Google Pixel. Authorities accuse him of destroying evidence to prevent an investigation and confiscation of the device. GrapheneOS is an open source operating system that focuses on privacy and security and runs on Google’s Pixel smartphones, but will soon also be available for some Motorola phones. It offers a function called Duress PIN.

If a user enters the special code instead of the usual PIN on the lock screen, the device does not unlock. Instead, the system irrevocably deletes all user data. There is no visible indication of the process on the screen; the phone simply restarts after the entry.

Before Tunick gave the officers the “wrong” PIN, they repeatedly denied him access to a lawyer The Guardian reported. In addition, the border guards did not have a search warrant for the check and demanded the password under threat of immediate confiscation of his smartphone. Tunick was returning from vacation in the Dominican Republic.

Connection to protest movement

The defendant’s lawyers argue that the officers also demanded access to Tunick’s cell phone under false pretenses. They claimed to be looking for illegal images of child sexual abuse. However, the real background to the search was Tunick’s alleged connection to a protest movement against a planned police training center in Atlanta. The officials tried to spy on the man’s political connections and communication channels. Now Tunick is accused of intentionally deleting the phone’s digital content to prevent the government from seeing it. He was charged under a federal law that regulates the destruction of property to prevent its confiscation.

decision in the fall

A judge is expected to rule on the case in late October. If the court follows the prosecution’s argument, the trial could set a precedent. It would be the first time that the use of special data protection software during a border control would lead to a conviction for destruction of evidence. Cybersecurity experts are raising concerns that the mere use of GrapheneOS or other data protection software could be criminalized by such incidents.

Proponents see the system as legitimate protection for journalists and activists. In the Spanish region of Catalonia, police officers are already generally suspecting people with Pixel smartphones because they could use the secure operating system. The authorities there internally classified the software as potentially suspicious. This underlines the growing international skepticism of prosecutors towards such data protection tools.