Privacy¶

Kill Switches¶

Hardware kill switches physically disconnect power to certain hardware components of the device.

Kill switch locations on the edge of the phone¶

Killswitch	Affected circuit
Cellular modem	Power to the M.2 modem
WLAN/Bluetooth	Power to the M.2 WiFi/Bluetooth module
Camera/microphone	Power to the camera and microphone

Note

Features may be disabled at the software level when a kill switch is in the enabled position. Conversely, it may not be possible to remove power to hardware functionality in software.

Terminology¶

Due to the vernacular ambiguity of killswitch engagement, it is important that users use common terminology to describe whether or not power is being applied to hardware affected by a hardware kill switch. This section aims to converge on a common meaning.

Killswitch mode	Meaning
Active Enabled Engaged On	The killswitch is in a position that allows power to flow to the peripheral.
Inactive Disabled Disengaged Off	If the killswitch is in a position that removes power to the peripheral.

As it relates to the Librem 5 and Liberty phones:

Enabled: A kill switch is enabled when it is in the UP position, closest to the top edge of the phone, away from the SIM tray.
Disabled: A kill switch is disabled when it is in the DOWN position, closest to the bottom edge of the phone.

Lockdown mode¶

When all three switches are in the disabled position, these additional features are disabled:

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) unit – GPS and other networks
Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) – accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer
Ambient light and proximity sensors

These features will be enabled if any of the switches are in the enabled position.