Your phone is going to a repair shop. What happens to your private photos?
The screen is cracked. The person at the counter holds out a hand for the phone and then asks for the unlock code. Behind that code are years of photos.
What you can do, with or without ZeroBox
- Ask whether the repair needs the phone unlocked. If it does not, keep the code to yourself.
- Copy what you need to a place you control before you go, and check that the copy opens.
- Take out the SIM card and the memory card unless the repair needs them.
- Ask whether the shop may reset the phone. A reset erases everything that was not copied.
How ZeroBox helps
- Files in the ZeroBox vault are encrypted with AES-256 and open only with the vault PIN. That PIN is separate from your screen lock, so the unlock code alone does not open the vault.
- The app locks as soon as you leave it, and it stays out of the recent-apps preview.
- Before you go, save a transfer file (Settings, Transfer to a new phone) and keep the recovery key on paper. If the phone is reset, the transfer file is how the vault comes back.
What ZeroBox does not cover
- Photos in your gallery, in a cloud backup or in chat apps stay as visible as they were. ZeroBox protects what is inside the vault.
- If you unlock the phone and ZeroBox is on the screen, the person holding it sees that you use ZeroBox.
- If the screen lock is removed, ZeroBox deletes its Double Guard key and the PIN stops opening the vault until you use the recovery key. A reset erases the vault itself, and without a transfer file saved earlier it is gone.
- ZeroBox cannot tell you whether a shop can be trusted.
