I’m with you. Since the police can and do confiscate, inventory, and securely store all personal effects of an arrested person, to remove weapons and anything that might be used for escape, there are rarely (other than with the ticking bomb found in fiction and in big government fantasies) exigent circumstances which create a compelling need for immediate action to search the phone. If law enforcement wants to do a lawful search, they can get a warrant. Otherwise, government agents have no business searching “persons, houses, papers, and effects” when the phone clearly qualifies as “effects” and is the modern equivalent of “papers”.
I have nothing sensitive on my phone, but I am sensitive to protecting what’s left of our Constitution. If we’re going to throw out evidence based on Miranda violations, we should certainly throw out evidence based on unlawful searches.
They are worried about someone initiating a remote wipe before they can get a warrant according to the article.