A normal user will most likely never encounter a situation where their weak password would be at risk, but are much more likely to having their biometrics forced by law enforcement or border control.
They will rip your bandaid off and force your finger or face to scan while holding your device.
Any weak password at all would have been better in a situation like that.
When you go through a border crossing or go to do something that might get you on the RADAR of a police or government entity, just wipe your phone or carry a burner.
They are looking to bypass pretty much any security you use at that point so for that threat profile and the security required to safeguard you, a password will not be sufficient and you are not going to win.
I’m not advocating for or against passwords here. I’m pointing out that A/. you can lockdown the device with key presses to make it require a password, some devices will require a password to be entered at certain intervals and when a device is restarted, and the only time you’d really need to worry about this is when dealing with law enforcement. At which point it’s likely that your particular threat profile would require you to forego biometrics entirely.
But it’s still not the same as no password. There’s still a barrier, but you can be coerced to remove that barrier.
If you don’t think they can force you to give up a pin or password, i would point you to the sheer number of incarcerated people who actually have been proven innocent who admitted to a crime because the police coerced a confession.
You can be forcibly restrained, and have your face or hand forcibly used to unlock and its completely legal.
And while I completely agree a burner is a better choice, it has precisely zero bearing on a discussion about specifically biometrics, police, and privacy in the context of the US.
A normal user will most likely never encounter a situation where their weak password would be at risk, but are much more likely to having their biometrics forced by law enforcement or border control.
They will rip your bandaid off and force your finger or face to scan while holding your device.
Any weak password at all would have been better in a situation like that.
How?
You can’t be compelled to give up your password.
A weak password they can guess.
Compared to guaranteed success, a weak password is superior.
Youre comparing a weak password to no password here and suggesting no password is better.
I’m not. I have never seen a device that can be set up without a password or pin in addition to face or fingerprint unlock.
You have to have both.
Once the biometrics are there, it replaces the pin/password in most scenarios I can think of.
Cell phone access, logging into a PC, etc.
Setting up both doesn’t mean that both are required for access.
Biometrics can be compelled (forced). So face or fingerprint can be forced, making them irrelevant to security - the same as no password.
https://immpolicytracking.org/policies/ice-notice-of-intent-to-award-contract-to-cellebrite-for-smartphone-hacking-technology/
When you go through a border crossing or go to do something that might get you on the RADAR of a police or government entity, just wipe your phone or carry a burner.
They are looking to bypass pretty much any security you use at that point so for that threat profile and the security required to safeguard you, a password will not be sufficient and you are not going to win.
I’m not advocating for or against passwords here. I’m pointing out that A/. you can lockdown the device with key presses to make it require a password, some devices will require a password to be entered at certain intervals and when a device is restarted, and the only time you’d really need to worry about this is when dealing with law enforcement. At which point it’s likely that your particular threat profile would require you to forego biometrics entirely.
But it’s still not the same as no password. There’s still a barrier, but you can be coerced to remove that barrier.
If you don’t think they can force you to give up a pin or password, i would point you to the sheer number of incarcerated people who actually have been proven innocent who admitted to a crime because the police coerced a confession.
Coercion <> compelled.
You can be forcibly restrained, and have your face or hand forcibly used to unlock and its completely legal.
And while I completely agree a burner is a better choice, it has precisely zero bearing on a discussion about specifically biometrics, police, and privacy in the context of the US.