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Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

nytimes.com

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Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#11

Post by rootusrootus »

joshstrange wrote: post #6

I wonder how long (if ever) it will be until we have really good mechanisms for handling digital affairs after death. 1Password has the emergency kit [0] which I really should fill out and store alongside a will but I would need to write one of those first. It's just something that seems so.... antiquated? That's not the right word but writing a will feels like it will involve talking to a lawyer and not be cheap/eas…

I use the 1Password emergency kit and put it in an "In Case of Emergency" envelope I left in our family safe for my wife. Has lists of accounts, insurance policies, etc, along with advice for my wife in a time of emotional turmoil. I wouldn't mind some kind of reliable service that could serve a similar purpose, but more proactively. My wife knows about the envelope, of course, but it would be nice to have someone on retainer that could step in and be a helping hand (with a fiduciary responsibility, too).

Probably exists, and I haven't tried too hard to find it.

Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#12

Post by wrs »

joshstrange wrote: post #6

I wonder how long (if ever) it will be until we have really good mechanisms for handling digital affairs after death. 1Password has the emergency kit [0] which I really should fill out and store alongside a will but I would need to write one of those first. It's just something that seems so.... antiquated? That's not the right word but writing a will feels like it will involve talking to a lawyer and not be cheap/eas…

Assuming you’re in the US, Nolo Press has been my go-to for this sort of thing for decades. Simple wills and living wills are, in most states, very simple.

Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#13

Post by scrooched_moose »

joshstrange wrote: post #6

I wonder how long (if ever) it will be until we have really good mechanisms for handling digital affairs after death. 1Password has the emergency kit [0] which I really should fill out and store alongside a will but I would need to write one of those first. It's just something that seems so.... antiquated? That's not the right word but writing a will feels like it will involve talking to a lawyer and not be cheap/eas…

In theory I like the idea of LastPass's better "inheritence system" better.

You set an account heir in the profile. They submit an access request after death, which the deceased has X amount of time to reject (in case of abuse/heir being hacked). If the request isn't denied, the heir gains full access to the account, including logins and passwords for all online accounts.

If you choose someone you trust and set the window to an appropriate period for rejecting false requests, i.e. not 3 days when I know I'll be off the grid for 2 weeks, it seems very secure.

Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#14

Post by charlieo88 »

the_snooze wrote: post #4

I'd feel a bit weirded out at the prospect of someone going through my digital records after I pass. Not so much for my own embarrassment (I'd be too dead to feel that, after all), but to protect the trust and confidentiality of everyone I've communicated with.

Yeah, I had to clean off a computer of a friend who passed to make it "safe" for his son to use. That was an eye-opener experience.

Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#16

Post by chadwittman »

charlieo88 wrote: post #14
the_snooze wrote: post #4

I'd feel a bit weirded out at the prospect of someone going through my digital records after I pass. Not so much for my own embarrassment (I'd be too dead to feel that, after all), but to protect the trust and confidentiality of everyone I've communicated with.

Yeah, I had to clean off a computer of a friend who passed to make it "safe" for his son to use. That was an eye-opener experience.

Can you share more on this? I'm assuming embarrassing content viewed or created?

Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#18

Post by mholt »

Not quite what I expected when I clicked on this, but anyway.

I would never treat my phone as my only copy of my data. I don't consider phone storage to be permanent OR a backup.

If you're into preserving your memories that are locked into your online services and apps like Google Photos, Facebook, Twitter, etc, I've started a project called Timeliner which downloads your data to your own home computers: https://github.com/mholt/timeliner - I run it on a cron every week.

Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#19

Post by 781 »

wccrawford wrote: post #10
admax88q wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand it would be super interesting if we _could_ get in to people's data maybe several generations after they've passed. Imagine what historians could learn about what life was like hundreds of years ago if those people left the same digital footprints that we're creating today.

But also imagine all the wannabe journalists that would just do character assassinations on long-dead people revered as heroes for a quick buck and some internet fame. They would completely ignore all the harm it would do. Worse, there would be those that would do that same thing with plenty of intent to cause harm, especially to the groups they are prejudiced against. It's the problems from the "right to be forgotte…

> But also imagine all the wannabe journalists that would just do character assassinations on long-dead people revered as heroes

That's an easy one. Pretty much anyone of notice living today will be labeled a "savage meat eater" and canceled. They will say "many people were already vegan, why was he/she still eating meat? Clearly a monster. Cancel"

Re: Hacking My Mother’s Phone to Save Her Memories

#20

Post by gonehome »

Maximus9000 wrote: post #5
kennyadam wrote: post #2

Weird title. They never managed to get in to the phone. They just took the SIM out and put it in another phone to use 2FA SMS codes, along with logins they found written down.

IMO hacking is getting into a system by any means. Ultimately they were going after the "memories" which were all stored on the cloud. They needed to get into that. They determined they didnt need to get into the phone in order to get into the cloud.

Except they didn't get access to iMessage or other things encrypted locally on the device.
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