How to use Oblivion to remotely lock and wipe a device

Oblivion is a free, open source Android app that can lock your phone or factory reset it when a trigger fires. It has full support for GrapheneOS. It is meant for high-risk situations such as loss, theft or being forced to unlock your phone.

A wipe cannot be undone. Make sure you have backups, and test the app on a spare phone first. Only an encrypted, password-protected phone can guarantee that data is unrecoverable after a wipe, and the app does not work in Safe Mode.

What it can do

• Panic button: a Quick Settings tile that triggers the action immediately.
• Remote message: a secret code sent to the phone triggers the action.
• Dead man's switch: if the phone has not been unlocked for a set period, the action runs.

The action is a lock or a factory reset, using Android's Device Administration feature.

Install

1. Install Oblivion. Use Obtainium so you get update notifications instead of installing a one-off downloaded file. See how to install apps on GrapheneOS.
2. Open the app and read the permission prompts. Oblivion asks to run in the background and at startup, which can use a little extra battery.

Set it up

1. Grant Device administrator access when the app asks. This is what allows it to lock or wipe the phone.
2. Choose how you want it to react: lock only, or lock and wipe.
3. Turn on the triggers you want:
   1. Add the Oblivion tile to your Quick Settings by pulling down the notification shade, tapping the edit (pencil) icon and dragging the tile into place.
   2. Set a long, secret remote code that nobody could guess. Keep a copy in a safe place.
   3. Set the inactivity period for the dead man's switch, if you want it. Start with a long period so you do not wipe your own phone by accident.
4. Set an app lock or authentication so that nobody else can change the settings.
5. Restart the phone and confirm the app is still running.

Test it

1. On a spare phone, trigger each method once and check the result.
2. Confirm the phone is encrypted and protected by a PIN or passphrase (this is on by default on GrapheneOS).

Tips

• Keep important data backed up, for example in a Cryptomator vault.
• Tell nobody the remote code, and change it if you think it has been seen.
• Remember that a wiped phone cannot be located or restored.