So I just went to a nearby repair guy who only asked for my phone number to update me on the repair status.
Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
51–60 of 77 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you do when you drop your car at a mechanic ?
My car doesn't have access to my emails.
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#53At some point you need to trust your vendor or why are you even buying their products in the first place
Vendor != some repair guy in vendor's shop.
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#54Samsung phones have a feature for this specific scenario. Maintenance Mode creates a temporary user account, allowing a service technician to test all of the functionality of your device without exposing any user data. Given Apple's stated commitment to privacy and security, I'm surprised that there's no equivalent feature. https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/what-is-ma...
It is double-edged sword. Adds new attack vector to compromise the whole phone. Is the user data encrypted when the maintenance mode is on? Can thiefs access it and make phone usable?
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#55Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#56At some point you need to trust your vendor or why are you even buying their products in the first place
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
The iPhone transfers card details to Apple Watch automatically, so no, that data is not stored in a non-exportable fashion. The data-storage capacity of things like a TPM or Apple's secure enclave is absolutely tiny (e.g. the TPM specification[1] only requires ~7KiB) - which makes sense considering it only needs to store a handful of encryption keys and other stored-secrets. [1] https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/reso…
Cards on an Apple Watch are provisioned separately from those on a paired phone. They have different card numbers, and are provisioned as two separate passes, each with its own fraud control. Once a pass has been added to one Apple device, a reference token to that physical card is added to your iCloud account, which can be used to initiate the provisioning flow on other devices. Usually that token requires at least…
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#58Samsung phones have a feature for this specific scenario. Maintenance Mode creates a temporary user account, allowing a service technician to test all of the functionality of your device without exposing any user data. Given Apple's stated commitment to privacy and security, I'm surprised that there's no equivalent feature. https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/what-is-ma...
It is double-edged sword. Adds new attack vector to compromise the whole phone. Is the user data encrypted when the maintenance mode is on? Can thiefs access it and make phone usable?
Yes, the primary device user data remains encrypted. The temporary user functions in a sandboxed state.
>Can thiefs access it and make phone usable?
The expected functionality prohibits access to the primary user data. Even if they were able to break from the sandboxed space somehow, the primary user data maintains an encrypted state.
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#59You should delete all your personal data and then leave a mobile in the support store, I won't leave my phone unblocked to anyone.
I get why you’re being careful, but following on from your logic there… there’s nothing from them also adding in some root kit. Depending on your level of carefulness… I would consider your phone not secure if it’s confiscated and you’re not in the same room as it.
I think running a system restore should make the phone reasonably safe?
Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple want me to expose my iPhone password to repair my screen?
#60Samsung phones have a feature for this specific scenario. Maintenance Mode creates a temporary user account, allowing a service technician to test all of the functionality of your device without exposing any user data. Given Apple's stated commitment to privacy and security, I'm surprised that there's no equivalent feature. https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/what-is-ma...
Poster is concerned about entering password on a device used by many. Poster could go home log on to iCloud on a device they own and disable Find my from there. No passcodes handed over. No access to device data, remains encrypted.