Unlocking your phone for the police
The police ask you to unlock your phone. Ask which action is meant: telling a code, using a finger or facial recognition. These situations are not necessarily the same legally.
Duration: 1:31
Further reading and sources
This video summarises the main points. The full article provides more detail, exceptions and official sources. This information does not replace advice about your case.
Read the full articleSpoken transcript
Download the transcriptCriminal Law in the Netherlands.
The police ask you to unlock your phone. Ask which action is meant: telling a code, using a finger or facial recognition. These situations are not necessarily the same legally.
Ask what authority the request or action is based on. Discuss this with your lawyer. Do not draw a general conclusion from a loose internet statement about a different method of unlocking.
Jurisprudence regarding a fingerprint does not automatically answer the question of whether you must provide a remembered access code. Let the lawyer assess the specific act and circumstances.
Even after unlocking, the extent of the data search remains a separate question. Discuss which data will be examined and what permission or assessment is required.
Write down as accurately as possible what was asked and what happened. Keep your own observations and assumptions apart. Do not change or delete data to influence the investigation.
Ask your lawyer which questions about access, data search and seizure should be assessed separately. A general appeal to privacy does not replace that concrete assessment.
Read the full explanation on the Criminal Law in the Netherlands website.
All explainer videos
1:07What should you do after an arrest?
Arrested in the Netherlands? Ask what you are suspected of. Suspicion does not mean that guilt has been established.
Watch the video
1:13Your rights during police questioning
Invited for police questioning in the Netherlands? Check your role. This explanation concerns questioning as a suspect, rather than as a witness.
Watch the video
1:13Received a summons: what happens next?
A Dutch criminal summons calls you to court. The Public Prosecution Service presents an accusation; the judge decides the case.
Watch the video