Now that Samsung has pointed it out, it sounds strange to say that we hand over our phones, with all their sensitive data onboard, to repair shops.
In a nutshell: Samsung is experimenting with a new feature in South Korea called “repair mode.” As the name suggests, it’s a special setting that you can toggle on when you take your phone in for repairs that protects your data from nosy repair technicians.
Now that Samsung has pointed it out, it sounds strange to say that we hand over our phones, with all their sensitive data onboard, to repair shops with the password on a slip of paper. Many minor repairs don’t require the phone to be unlocked, but those that do present a significant security risk if you have important information on your phone, particularly if you use it for work.
There have been many documented instances of repair technicians misusing their access to customers’ phones (or PCs before that) and getting caught.
