Why It’s Ok the MojoBox Has No Lockable Shackle

We explicitly designed the MojoBox with a removable (and not lockable) shackle. We did this to keep the MojoBox ultra-affordable, and to remove a point of complexity and potential failure.

We spent a good deal of time on this decision. We knew this might matter for some customers. But we also knew that most any mechanical lockbox (the primary replacement target for the MojoBox) had a non-lockable shackle. You can’t be everything for everyone. And we had decided that the number one thing we wanted to do with a MojoBox was take away almost any excuse someone had to continue using insecure, mechanical lockboxes.

We knew there would be concern expressed by some that the lack of a lockable shackle means MojoBox could be easily removed from my home. In response to that concern, we’d like to make two points.

First, the MojoBox shackle is still much less tamper proof than the shackle on a mechanical lockbox. There is no single “code” of failure. You can distribute codes in a way that keeps anyone from coming back later and opening the MojoBox. This makes an authorized removal significantly more difficult.

Second, because the MojoBox is digital, and when timed access codes are being distributed, the MojoBox has no value for anyone to take. A mechanical lockbox can be immediately repurposed. A MojoBox cannot. The person who takes it may have the physical item, but they won’t have access codes. They won’t be able to continuously open the MojoBox, nor use it for anything beyond a doorstop.

This isn’t to say that we don’t value a lockable shackle. We do. And a lockable shackle could still happen in the future. But we put a lot of thought into the MojoBox. And we thought it’s important to explain that here.

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