feat: phase 2.5 — iPhone Mirroring auto-empty of Recently Deleted #1

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opened 2026-05-15 04:53:46 +00:00 by hartle-tech · 0 comments

hartle-tech commented

2026-05-15 04:53:46 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

S01E10 — The One-Touch Wring

iOS keeps deleted media in Recently Deleted for 30 days. AFC + PTP can't bypass it (empirically tested: PTP delete leaves bytes on disk, files just trashed). The only Apple-blessed automation path is iPhone Mirroring + CGEventPost: Apple substitutes Mac Touch ID for iPhone Face ID during mirroring, so we can drive the entire Photos.app → Recently Deleted → Select → Delete All flow from the Mac and let the user authorize with one Touch ID press.

Why

8 research agents (across 2 rounds) converged: no AFC, PTP, lockdownd, sideloaded helper, Shortcut, URL scheme, backup-restore, or jailbreak path will skip the 30-day purgatory on stock iOS 26.4.2. iPhone Mirroring is the only viable option.

Implementation outline

New macOS-only Go package wrapping CGEventPost (synthetic clicks → forwarded as touches to mirrored iPhone), CGWindowListCreateImage (screenshot the mirror window), and Apple's Vision.framework (OCR fallback to find buttons whose coordinates drift across iOS versions).
New CLI subcommand `dumpsock wipe-trash` and matching GUI button.
Hardcoded coordinate path for iPhone 16 Pro Max + default Mirroring window size; OCR fallback when coordinates miss.
User flow: open DumpSock → click "Wring it dry (1 Touch ID)" → DumpSock launches iPhone Mirroring.app, automates Photos → Albums → Recently Deleted → Select → Delete All → iPhone fires biometric prompt → Mac shows Touch ID prompt → user touches sensor → bytes really free.

Prior art to crib from

`midscene-ios` (npm) — screenshot+OCR+CGEventPost pipeline for generic iPhone Mirroring automation.
iPhone Mirroir MCP server.
libgphoto2 is unrelated here but useful prior art for the device-side OCR ladder.

Caveats / risk

Requires macOS 15+ with iPhone Mirroring set up.
Fragile across iOS Photos.app UI revisions (mitigation: OCR fallback).
Apple has clamped CGEventPost into mirroring before (Sequoia beta history); could re-clamp.
App Store distribution is impossible (Accessibility entitlement + CGEventPost outside sandbox).
Estimated effort: 2–3 days for v0.

Acceptance

`dumpsock wipe-trash --device ` clears Recently Deleted with exactly one user touch (Touch ID).
GUI exposes the same flow as a single button in the done-banner after a delete-after pull.
Fallback if Mirroring not available: surface the AFC-already-shipped guidance with the `photos-navigation://album?name=recently-deleted` deep-link.

## S01E10 — *The One-Touch Wring* iOS keeps deleted media in **Recently Deleted** for 30 days. AFC + PTP can't bypass it (empirically tested: PTP delete leaves bytes on disk, files just trashed). The only Apple-blessed automation path is **iPhone Mirroring + CGEventPost**: Apple substitutes Mac Touch ID for iPhone Face ID during mirroring, so we can drive the entire Photos.app → Recently Deleted → Select → Delete All flow from the Mac and let the user authorize with one Touch ID press. ## Why 8 research agents (across 2 rounds) converged: no AFC, PTP, lockdownd, sideloaded helper, Shortcut, URL scheme, backup-restore, or jailbreak path will skip the 30-day purgatory on stock iOS 26.4.2. iPhone Mirroring is the only viable option. ## Implementation outline - New macOS-only Go package wrapping `CGEventPost` (synthetic clicks → forwarded as touches to mirrored iPhone), `CGWindowListCreateImage` (screenshot the mirror window), and Apple's Vision.framework (OCR fallback to find buttons whose coordinates drift across iOS versions). - New CLI subcommand \`dumpsock wipe-trash\` and matching GUI button. - Hardcoded coordinate path for iPhone 16 Pro Max + default Mirroring window size; OCR fallback when coordinates miss. - User flow: open DumpSock → click \"Wring it dry (1 Touch ID)\" → DumpSock launches iPhone Mirroring.app, automates Photos → Albums → Recently Deleted → Select → Delete All → iPhone fires biometric prompt → **Mac shows Touch ID prompt** → user touches sensor → bytes really free. ## Prior art to crib from - [\`midscene-ios\` (npm)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/midscene-ios) — screenshot+OCR+CGEventPost pipeline for generic iPhone Mirroring automation. - [iPhone Mirroir MCP server](https://mcpmarket.com/server/iphone-mirroir). - libgphoto2 is unrelated here but useful prior art for the device-side OCR ladder. ## Caveats / risk - Requires macOS 15+ with iPhone Mirroring set up. - Fragile across iOS Photos.app UI revisions (mitigation: OCR fallback). - Apple has clamped CGEventPost into mirroring before (Sequoia beta history); could re-clamp. - App Store distribution is impossible (Accessibility entitlement + CGEventPost outside sandbox). - Estimated effort: 2–3 days for v0. ## Acceptance - \`dumpsock wipe-trash --device <udid>\` clears Recently Deleted with exactly one user touch (Touch ID). - GUI exposes the same flow as a single button in the done-banner after a delete-after pull. - Fallback if Mirroring not available: surface the AFC-already-shipped guidance with the \`photos-navigation://album?name=recently-deleted\` deep-link.

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hartle-tech/dumpsock#1

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