Particle.news
Download on the App Store

French Police Warn of GrapheneOS-Equipped Pixel Phones Used to Wipe Evidence

Police guidance aims to preserve digital evidence threatened by factory-reset features on Pixel devices running GrapheneOS.

Overview

  • A confidential note circulated on November 7 by the judicial police advises placing seized Google Pixel phones in Faraday pouches, avoiding any manipulation, and calling specialist teams.
  • Investigators report at least one Pixel reset itself during forensic access in a major narcotics case, leaving a Paris judge without the phone’s contents.
  • Spanish authorities alerted European counterparts months earlier about traffickers adopting GrapheneOS, prompting France to revise operational protocols.
  • GrapheneOS, supported on Google Pixel models, can trigger a rapid factory reset with a single code, complicating data extraction for law enforcement.
  • Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is pressing for heightened action against dealers as the issue draws political attention ahead of a planned presidential visit to Marseille.