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iPhone Self-Destruct

M

mossme89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 2, 2009
596
131
When my school confiscates cell phones, they search the phone for any illegal/rule violating data. If there is a passcode, they ask for it (and if you don't give it, you are written up for insubordination).

Is there anything in Cydia that would allow for a data self destruct? I don't mean for my phone to blow up, but if my passcode is 1535, could i set the phone to erase all data if, let's say, the passcode 9999 is entered? I know after 10 times, you can set the data to be erased, but can I set 2 passcodes, 1 as a normal, & 1 to erase all data?

I don't have anything illegal/rule violating on my phone, but i just feel like my privacy has been violated whenever they search my phone. I always have an up to date backup on my PC, so losing any data shouldn't be an issue.
 
I cannot help you with youre issue, however after reading your problem, I wanted to ask you where (state or country, not address) you live, where they are allowed to do such a thing. I know here in GA, in the USA that would be very very unethical, and possibly unconstitutional.

Im just curious.
 
It sounds like your school does not allow cell phones. Here's a crazy idea, obey the rules.
 
rdowns said:
It sounds like your school does not allow cell phones. Here's a crazy idea, obey the rules.
Click to expand...

It actually sounds like the school allows phones, but wants to make sure the students haven't got any "questionable" content on there.

OP, I can't help you, maybe a custom profile that wipes after 4 incorrect entries
 
rdowns said:
It sounds like your school does not allow cell phones. Here's a crazy idea, obey the rules.
Click to expand...

This is what it sounds like to me too, most High Schools require you to have your phone off and in your locker during the school day. Just listen.
 
Hehe it's ironic how a bunch of iPhone jailbreakers/hackers are telling another guy to follow the rules...
 
Astin said:
Hehe it's ironic how a bunch of iPhone jailbreakers/hackers are telling another guy to follow the rules...
Click to expand...

How ironic that you assume that people who post here are jailbreakers.
 
Unspoken Demise said:
I cannot help you with youre issue, however after reading your problem, I wanted to ask you where (state or country, not address) you live, where they are allowed to do such a thing. I know here in GA, in the USA that would be very very unethical, and possibly unconstitutional.

Im just curious.
Click to expand...

I think you would find with further research that public high school students do not enjoy most of the constitutional protections we take for granted. In particular, students do not enjoy any expectation of privacy in their lockers or belongings and are subject to almost limitless search and seizure while they are in school. I say almost limitless because there is currently some question about whether a student may be strip searched merely for the suspicion that she might be carrying (wait for it...) Advil.
 
This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but mobileme has a remote wipe feature as part of the "find my iphone" thing. If you have mobileme, you could run to a computer in the library on a passing period, login to mobileme, and remote wipe it...

Not sure of other remote wipe apps out there, surely there are some. :confused:
 
Another idea is to just hide all your apps that they would be searching in with SBSettings.

This way they can't even find them :) If you want to access them you can just unhide them or search for them with Spotlight. :p

I'm assuming it's probably Messages or Safari you're worried about. You can turn off browsing history in Safari and hide Messages and download TextPlus and say you use that for text messages. Then just leave it empty.

A little more information about what exactly you're hiding would be useful for giving you advice, but I don't think there's a solution for you.

Also, if they'd write you up for not giving a passcode I'm sure they'd be pissed if they punched in the code you gave them and then they saw the phone was completely wiped. :p
 
God i find that ridiculous, there is no way they are aloud todo that, in my old high school, they took the phone off you and switched it off.. if i was you i'd be getting a protest going.
 
If it's a private school I'm pretty sure they can do what they want. You (your parents) may have signed some agreement to allow them.

But if having a phone is against the rules they still don't have the right to search the device. I mean, you could have "sensitive banking information" or something of that nature on your phone and maybe don't feel comfortable handing it over. :D

If you really are worried, grab a GoPhone and put your sim in there for when you're at school. Then they take it and it'll be useless. Then just pop your sim back in your iPhone after and you're good to go.
 
Isn't there a setting on the phone so that if you enter the passcode wrong 10 times it wipes the phone clean? Does that include safari history and texts?
 
NQK said:
Isn't there a setting on the phone so that if you enter the passcode wrong 10 times it wipes the phone clean? Does that include safari history and texts?
Click to expand...

The OP mentions this in the original post. He is looking for something better though.
 
NQK said:
Isn't there a setting on the phone so that if you enter the passcode wrong 10 times it wipes the phone clean? Does that include safari history and texts?
Click to expand...

It would take hours to actually initiate that wipe. The phone is disabled in increasingly long increments after each incorrect attempt after number three.
 
rsm10 said:
God i find that ridiculous, there is no way they are aloud todo that, in my old high school, they took the phone off you and switched it off.. if i was you i'd be getting a protest going.
Click to expand...


I'd protest your high school education were I you.
 
If you're at all comfortable with the command line, you may be comfortable enough to write a simple script to delete the files you want. You can then set it up to run from the tap of a Springboard icon like this. If they ask for your phone, tap the icon and hand it over.
 
If you are in the U.S they cannot do this. Its the 4th Amendment
Its the bill o rights yo! said:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Click to expand...
 
mossme89 said:
When my school confiscates cell phones, they search the phone for any illegal/rule violating data. If there is a passcode, they ask for it (and if you don't give it, you are written up for insubordination).
Click to expand...

Do you go to a military school or something? Jesus...
 
hell my school wont let you have cell phones out even for any break they will give you a detention for 2 hours plus take your phone away and
YOUR PARENTS CAN ONLY PICK IT UP!!! funny story if you need to contact your parents because something happened to you, well you cant.

There crooks themselves when i got my phone stolen from my P.E locker nobody wanted to help me but when they take other peoples phones its ok. But being searched like that is absolutely outrageous.

The crappy part is you cant do anything about it, because they think of you as a delinquent its just bs.

Why does this piss me off so much well my friend took his phone out to look at the time and the teacher took his phone looked through his phone and reset his phone to factory settings and gave back his phone. And he was paying attention in class. -Rant over :D
 
OP, dunno about this wipe settings you're asking, however, I know what this is like. In my school they take away your phone and won't give it back to 'till the end of the week, luckily it never happened to me, if not, the principal would've gotten pretty annoyed with the FindMyiPhone features :p God bless that annoying "sonar" ringtone.

Schools shouldn't be allowed to take devices away, rather have disciplinary sanctions if you decide to use them. Seems more adequate to me.
 
My school is about the same way. In fact, in 8th grade, I texted a girl during school (against the rules I know), later that day she got her phone taken away and the teacher that took it looked through it and saw my name. 2 hour detention for me.
Now in 10th grade, if they catch you with your phone, they ask for it. You can expect them to look through it every time, and once a friend of mine noticed texts with cuss words in his phone deleted after he got it back.
 
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