The new method traffickers are using to communicate out of reach of law enforcement: the Google Pixel phone and the GrapheneOS operating system. That is the confidential information that judicial police shared with all other services on November 7. The anti-cybercrime office describes this new method being adopted by criminals, particularly drug traffickers. “In my cases, none of these devices has ever been successfully opened by the police,” says a lawyer who specializes in such matters.

A few months ago, while searching the suspected leader of the sprawling Île-de-France trafficking network known as Omar, investigators from the narcotics brigade seized a Google Pixel phone. The moment police IT specialists tried to extract data from it, the device mysteriously reset itself. The Paris judge handling the case will therefore have to proceed without the phone’s contents in the investigation against Bilel.

This suspected 27-year-old trafficker is believed to have run a drug-delivery phone platform which, between 2023 and 2024 in Paris, generated two million euros in revenue and allegedly caused three overdose deaths during chemsex parties.

Designed to “enhance the security of personal data stored on mobile phones”

Encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram, and even dedicated encrypted phones, no longer pose a challenge for investigators. For years now, police have been able to break into phones and computers even when suspects refuse to give up their access codes. Criminals have previously used other technical solutions as well. EncroChat, an encrypted phone platform, and SkyECC, an encrypted messaging service, are the most notable examples. The former was hacked by French cyber-gendarmerie, and the latter by Belgian police. The data obtained led to the arrest of countless criminals worldwide, including hitmen and international traffickers.

GrapheneOS, on the other hand, is “an alternative mobile operating system running on the Android ecosystem and developed specifically to enhance the security of personal data stored on mobile phones,” explains an analyst from the judicial police. It promises users the highest level of privacy and protection against intrusions and violations of personal data currently available. The software is free and designed to run exclusively on Google Pixel phones. These devices incorporate a hardware security chip that protects communications by encrypting them.

“Initially presented as a legitimate solution meant to protect citizens from intrusions into their mobile phones—especially journalists, researchers, or activists—GrapheneOS has gradually spread to users seeking above all to avoid any form of data collection or analysis by authorities, including in a judicial context,” the police add.

Legally available—and also on underground markets

One distinctive feature of GrapheneOS: you can get it both on the darknet and on mainstream websites. Police have also detected specialized forums, darknet chat rooms, and unlisted YouTube channels that promote it.

“When this system is present on a mobile phone, it is a clear indicator of technical sophistication and an intent to conceal,” adds one officer. The software can erase all data on the phone by displaying, for example, a fake Snapchat screen when a cyber-investigator tries to access its memory or decrypt it.

“We don’t sell anything; we have neither clients nor users,” representatives of GrapheneOS told Le Parisien–Aujourd’hui en France. “People can download our operating system for free onto their Pixel phones and use it. Our security and privacy work is highly appreciated by security professionals, and is regularly recommended and used by human-rights activists, journalists, and lawyers.”

“Criminals also use knives”

The organization, which is not a company but a foundation, emphasizes that its solution is used by ordinary people who dislike how most apps and operating systems treat their data. It adds that if criminals use Google Pixels and GrapheneOS, it is simply because the solutions work well. But that does not make the developers complicit, they insist. “Criminals and traffickers also use knives, fast cars, and cash—things that are also widely used by honest citizens,” the representatives say.

GrapheneOS further notes that it protects users from hackers and from intrusions by the secret services of authoritarian states. “We consider privacy a human right, and we are concerned about projects like Chat Control (a European bill aimed at detecting child-abuse material in messaging apps, but heavily criticized), which the French government supports. The invasion of privacy enabled by such legislation would have alarming implications under an authoritarian-leaning government,” the foundation argues.