I like using the Steam Deck as a small portable workstation as well as gaming, about half and half usage, and I know I’m far from the only person who does this. I main Linux for my desktop these days and I full-disk encrypt everything for security sake, and what I’d like to see is if the Steam Deck could possibly add encryption for either the full disk or the /home directory if nothing else.

Reasoning: Essentially, the Steam Deck is a device at fairly high-risk of theft given as it’s both a portable device and it’s ideal use case is on-the-go (trains, busses, laundromat, vacations, taking it/leaving it in the car, etc). This could leave things like browser sign-ins & tokens accessible if not encrypted, as well as any user files stored on the filesystem.

Suggested Implementation: I’d personally suggest implementing this similar to how Android handles full-disk encryption, at least in terms of user-side functionality. I’d recommend something similar to the PIN unlock screen, with the buttons being accessible if possible to type with if not the touchscreen as well, so we can set decently long keys even if we’re limited to ten digits instead of the full keyboard.

I’m not exactly an Arch expert, I’ve still got to figure out how to get my initramfs to play nice with my RAID and Encryption setup myself (this is mainly why I’m using openSUSE Tumbleweed on my main system instead of Arch currently), but from how I understand it I’m pretty sure that this should be possible. I’m also curious how many people here might also want this as a feature, or if this is just a “me” thing.