Readers like you help support XDA Developers. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More.
latest
XDA member unknowingly bought a Pixel phone with an FBI backdoor
The FBI reportedly sold backdoored Pixel phones to criminals, and one of those phones found its way to an XDA member.
The XDA Forums routinely get new users who have trouble with their phones, but one unlucky user ended up with a problem that nobody knew how to solve. As it turns out, this user had bought a used Pixel phone that wasn't originally sold by Google or an official retailer but rather by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations, or FBI. This phone came with a custom ROM called ArcaneOS and had messaging software called "ANOM" preinstalled that was secretly made by the FBI to catch criminals discussing their criminal activities.