logo
How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border

How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border

WIRED21-04-2025

Lily Hay Newman Matt Burgess Apr 21, 2025 6:30 AM Custom and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers' devices when they cross into the United States. Here's what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border. Photo-Illustration:Entering the United States has become more precarious since the start of the second Trump administration in January. There has been an apparent surge in both foreign visitors and US visa holders being detained, questioned, and even deported at the border. As the situation evolves, demand for flights from Canada and Europe has plummeted as people reevaluate their travel plans.
Many people, though, can't avoid border crossings, whether they are returning home after traveling for work or visiting friends and family abroad. Regardless of the reason for travel, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have the authority to search people's phones and other devices as they determine who is allowed to enter the country. Multiple travelers have reported being questioned or turned away at the US border in recent weeks in relation to content on their phones.
While not unique to the US border—other nations also have powers to inspect phones—the increasingly volatile nature of the Trump administration's border policies is causing people to rethink the risks of carrying devices packed with personal information to and from the US. Canadian authorities have updated travel guidance to warn of phone searches and seizures, some corporate executives are reconsidering the devices they carry, some officials in Europe continue to receive burner phones for certain trips to the US, and the Committee to Protect Journalists has warned foreign reporters about device searches at the US border.
With this in mind, here's the WIRED guide to planning for bringing a smartphone across the border. You should also use WIRED's guide to entering the US with your digital privacy intact to get a broader view of how to minimize data and take precautions. But start here for everything smartphone. What Can CBP Access?
Do CBP officials have the authority to search your phone at the border? The short answer is yes. Searches are either manual, with a border official looking through the device, or more advanced, involving forensic tools to extract data en masse. To get into your phone, border officials can ask for your PIN or biometric to unlock the phone. However, your legal status and right to enter the US will make a difference in what a search might look like at the border.
Generally, border zones—which includes US international airports—fall outside of Fourth Amendment protections that require a warrant for a device to be searched (though one federal court has ruled otherwise). As such, CBP has the power to search any traveler's phone or other electronic devices, such as computers and cameras, when they're entering the country. US citizens and green card holders can refuse a device search without being denied entry, but they may face additional questioning or temporary device seizure. And as the Trump administration pushes the norms of acceptable government conduct, it is possible that, in practice, green card holders could face new repercussions for declining a device search. US visa holders and foreign visitors can face detention and deportation for refusing a device search.
'Not everybody has the same risk profile,' says Molly Rose Freeman Cyr, a member of Amnesty International's Security Lab. 'A person's legal status, the social media accounts that they use, the messaging apps that they use, and the contents of their chats' should all factor into their risk calculus and the decisions they make about border crossings, Cyr says.
If you feel safe refusing a search, make sure to disable biometrics used to unlock your device, like face or fingerprint scanners, which CBP officers can use to access your device. Instead, use only a PIN or an alphanumeric code (if available on your device). Make sure to keep your phone's operating system up to date, which can make it hard to crack with forensic tools.
You should also consider factors like nationality, citizenship, profession, and geopolitical views in assessing whether you or someone you're traveling with could be at higher risk of scrutiny during border crossings.
In short, you need to make some decisions before you travel about whether you would be prepared to refuse a device search and whether you want to make changes to your devices before your trips.
Keep in mind that there are simple steps anyone can take to keep your devices out of sight and, hopefully, out of mind during border crossings. It's always a good idea to obtain a printed boarding pass or prepare other paper documents for review and then turn your phone off and store it in your bag before you approach a CBP agent. Traveling With an Alternate Phone
There are two ways to approach device privacy for border crossings. One is to start with a clean slate, purchasing a phone for the purpose of traveling or wiping and repurposing your old phone—if it still receives software updates.
The device doesn't need to be a true 'burner' phone, in the sense that you will be carrying it with you as if nothing is out of the ordinary, so you don't need to purchase it with cash or take other steps to ensure that it can't be connected to you. The idea, though, is to build a sanitized version of your digital life on the travel phone, ideally with separate communication and social media accounts created specifically for travel. This way, if your device is searched, it won't have the back catalog of data—old text messages, years of photos, forgotten apps, and access to many or all of your digital accounts—that exists on your primary phone and could reveal details of your political views, your associations, or your movements over time.
Starting with a clean slate makes it easy to practice 'data minimization,' or reducing the data available to another person: Simply put the things you'll need for a trip on the phone without anything you won't need. You might make a travel email address, some alternate social media accounts, and a separate account for end-to-end encrypted communications using an app like Signal or WhatsApp. Ideally you would totally silo your real digital life from this travel life. But you can also include some of your regular personal apps, building back from the ground up while determining on a selective basis whether you have existing accounts that you feel comfortable potentially exposing. Perhaps, for example, you think that showing a connection to your employer or a community organization could be advantageous in a fraught situation.
Privacy and digital rights advocates largely prefer the approach of building a travel device from scratch, but they caution that a phone that is too squeaky clean, too much like a burner phone, can arouse suspicion.
'You have to 'seed' the device. Use the phone for a day or even for a few hours. It just can't be clean clean. That's weird,' says Matt Mitchell, founder of CryptoHarlem, a security and privacy training and advocacy nonprofit. 'My recommendation is to make a finsta for travel, because if they ask you what your profile is, how are you gonna say 'I don't use any social media'? Many people have a few accounts anyway. One ratchet, one wholesome—add one travel.'
Cyr, from Amnesty International, also points out that a true burner phone would be a 'dumb' phone, which wouldn't be able to run apps for encrypted communications. 'The advantage that we all have with smartphones is that you can communicate in an encrypted way,' Cyr says. 'People should be conscious that any nonencrypted communication is less secure than a phone call or a message on an application like Signal.'
While a travel device doesn't need to use a prepaid SIM card bought with cash, it should not share your normal phone number, since this number is likely linked to most if not all of your key digital accounts. Buy a SIM card for your trip or only use the device on Wi-Fi. Traveling With Your Primary Phone
The other approach you can take to protecting your device during border crossings is to modify your primary smartphone before travel. This involves removing old photos and messages and storing them somewhere else, cleaning out nonessential apps, and either removing some apps altogether or logging out of them with your main accounts and logging back in with travel accounts.
Mohammed Al-Maskati, digital security helpline director at the rights group Access Now, says that people should consider this type of clean-out before they travel. 'I will look at my device and see what apps I need,' he says. 'If I don't need the app, I just remove it.'
Al-Maskati adds that he suggests people particularly remember to remove dating apps and anything related to LGBTQI communities, especially if they consider themselves to be at higher risk of facing a device search. And generally, this approach is only safe if you are particularly diligent about removing every app that might expose you to risk.
You could use your own phone as a travel phone by backing it up, wiping it, building a travel device with only the apps you really need while traveling, going on your trip, and then restoring from the backup when you get home. This approach is doable but time consuming, and it creates more opportunities for operational security mistakes or what are known as 'opsec fails.' If you try to delete all of your old, unwanted apps, but miss one, you could end up exposing an old social media account or other historic service that has forgotten data in it. Messaging apps can have easily searchable archives going back years and can automatically save photos and files without you realizing it. And if you back up all of your data to the cloud and take it off your device, but are still logged into the cloud account underpinning other services (like your main Google or Apple account), you could be asked to produce the data from the cloud for inspection.
Still, if you assess that you are at low risk of facing scrutiny during a border crossing or you don't have access to an additional device for travel, modifying your main smartphone is a good option. Just be careful. What To Do, If Nothing Else
Given all of this, you may be hyped up and ready to throw your phone in the ocean. Or you may be thinking there's no way in hell that you're ever going to take the time to deal with any of this. For those in the latter camp, you've come this far, so don't click away just yet. If you don't want to take the time to make a bunch of changes, and you don't think you're at particular risk during border crossings (though keep in mind that it's possible your risk is higher than you realize), there are still a few easy things you can do to protect your digital privacy that are better than nothing.
First, as mentioned above, print a paper boarding pass and any other documents you might need. Even if you don't turn your phone off and stow it in a bag for your entire entry or exit process, you can put it in your pocket and have your paper ticket and other documents ready while actually interacting with agents. And taking basic digital hygiene steps, like updating your phone and removing apps and data you no longer need, can go a long way.
'We all need to be recognizing that authorities may scrutinize your online presence, including social media activity and posts you've published,' says Danacea Vo, founder of Cyberlixir, a cybersecurity provider for nonprofits and vulnerable communities. 'Since people have gotten more vocal on social media, they're very worried about this. Some have even decided not to risk traveling to or from the US this year.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

U.S. Airline Passengers Get 'Warning' About Personal Information
U.S. Airline Passengers Get 'Warning' About Personal Information

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

U.S. Airline Passengers Get 'Warning' About Personal Information

If you fly with a major U.S. airline this year, the Department of Homeland Security might just have your personal information. Airlines Reporting Corporation, a company that focuses on ticket transaction settlements, has reportedly sold access to customer records information to the Department of Homeland Security and its Customs and Border Protection division. This deal was first reported by Wired. According to Wired, the information that ARC sold includes passengers' names, full itineraries and financial details. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division wants this data to "support federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify persons of interest's US domestic air travel ticketing information." "CBP is committed to protecting individuals' privacy during the execution of its mission to protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation's economic prosperity," a CBP spokesperson told Wired. "CBP follows a robust privacy policy as we protect the homeland through the air, land and maritime environments against illegal entry, illicit activity or other threats to national sovereignty and economic security." For what it's worth, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are all shareholders for ARC. "The big airlines—through a shady data broker that they own called ARC—are selling the government bulk access to Americans' sensitive information, revealing where they fly and the credit card they used," U.S. senator Ron Wyden said. "ARC has refused to answer oversight questions from Congress, so I have already contacted the major airlines that own ARC—like Delta, American Airlines, and United—to find out why they gave the green light to sell their customers' data to the government." CBP hasn't released a follow-up statement on this matter. U.S. Airline Passengers Get 'Warning' About Personal Information first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 10, 2025

Canadian road trips to US drop 38 percent year-on-year
Canadian road trips to US drop 38 percent year-on-year

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Canadian road trips to US drop 38 percent year-on-year

The number of Canadians returning from road trips to the United States fell sharply in May compared to the same period in 2024. Canadian-resident return trips by car totaled 1.3 million, a 38.1 percent drop from May 2024 — marking the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. by air also fell — by 24.2 percent — compared to May 2024. The decline in Canadian-resident air travel from the U.S. accounts for the overall dip in return air travel. While Canadians' return travel by air declined by 3.7 percent overall, return air travel increased by 9.8 percent among Canadians returning from overseas countries compared to last May. U.S. residents, meanwhile, traveled to Canada at a lower rate than they did last year but saw a more modest decline than their Canadian counterparts. U.S.-resident arrivals to Canada by car fell by 8.4 percent and, by air, fell by 0.3 percent, compared to last May. The decline in Canadian road trips to the U.S. continued a trend seen in prior months. In April 2025, Canadian-resident return trips by car from the U.S. totaled 1.2 million — a 35.2 percent decline from April 2024. Canadian-resident return trips by air fell by 19.9 percent, compared to the prior month. The overall tourism decline threatens to wipe out $12.5 billion from the American economy this year, NewsNation reported. The decline in tourism comes as tensions between the U.S. and Canada have cooled under the Trump administration, as President Trump continues to muse publicly about making Canada a 51st state of America, which Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly rejected as a nonstarter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Why the U.S. government is touting tourism in Afghanistan
Why the U.S. government is touting tourism in Afghanistan

Politico

time4 hours ago

  • Politico

Why the U.S. government is touting tourism in Afghanistan

Presented by Housing For US HAPPY TRAILS — If you haven't made summer plans yet, here's an idea: Have you considered Afghanistan? The State Department strongly advises against travel for Americans but the Department of Homeland Security has determined that conditions are on the upswing in the perennially war-torn country — and that even tourism is starting to come back. 'Tourists are sharing their experiences on social media, highlighting the peaceful countryside, welcoming locals, and the cultural heritage, according to some reports,' DHS said. The rosy observation appears in a recent DHS notification in the Federal Register, announcing the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for about 12,000 Afghans who have taken refuge in the U.S., part of the Trump administration's larger effort to dismantle refugee programs and remove non-citizens from the country. In a finding that has confounded experts and advocates, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem determined that there have been 'notable improvements' in the security and economy of Afghanistan such that refugees would not be in imminent danger upon their return. Afghanistan used to be a popular draw for foreign backpackers, part of the famed 'Hippy Trail.' That ended with the Soviet invasion in 1979, which ushered in nearly 40 years of conflict. By some measures, the country is indeed experiencing a period of relative calm compared to more recent years. That's because the U.S. is no longer at war with the Taliban thanks to a peace deal signed during President Donald Trump's first term and a chaotic American withdrawal completed under President Joe Biden. The White House still has a hostile view of the Taliban government, including Afghanistan on a list of 19 countries whose citizens are now banned or restricted from entering the U.S. under an executive order that took effect Monday. But in the federal register, DHS notes that attacks involving improvised explosive devices have declined by 72 percent over the past year; the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has fallen to 23.7 million, down from 29 million a year earlier; and GDP rose 2.7 percent. DHS notes approvingly that tourism has increased a whopping 913 percent, reportedly with the encouragement of the ultraconservative Taliban, since the U.S. withdrawal – with about 7,000 people, primarily from China, visiting Afghanistan in 2023. DHS, however, seems to have been selective with its statistics. In the footnotes of its Federal Register notice, the agency three times cites a report from last year by the United States Institute of Peace – an independent organization that the Trump administration and DOGE moved to shut down (a judge has halted the effort but the organization still faces an uncertain future). USIP's report on the state of the country three years into Taliban rule is much less sanguine, concluding that Afghanistan has 'only a façade of domestic stability' and that humanitarian and human rights conditions are 'dire.' Since taking power, the Taliban has issued over 100 decrees restricting the rights of women and girls to education, employment, healthcare and mobility — even declaring that female voices cannot be heard outside the home, according to USIP. Hundreds of men and women have been subjected to public floggings. Authorities have carried out disappearances and extrajudicial killings. In any case, the report was not produced to make a case, one way or the other, for Afghan TPS, said Scott Worden, USIP's director of Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs. 'It's validating to see the US government crediting the quality of USIP's research enough to cite it in an important administrative determination,' Worden said. 'However, the information that is cited in the USIP report does not speak to the specific risks that Afghans who have received TPS face if they go back to a Taliban-run Afghanistan.' The fact that Chinese tourists find the country safe, he said, is not really relevant since their government supported the Taliban. 'That is a totally different circumstance from an Afghan who helped America, who worked closely with Americans will face if they return to Taliban rule and will be subject to persecution or even worse.' As for American tourists, it may be best to stick with the State Department advisory, which flatly recommends 'do not travel.' Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@ Or contact tonight's author at bfox@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ben_foxed. What'd I Miss? — California asks judge to 'immediately' block military from joining ICE raids: Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking a federal judge for a restraining order that blocks Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from ordering National Guard troops and Marines to support immigration raids in Los Angeles. 'They must be stopped, immediately,' attorneys for the state wrote in a filing today. The request, submitted around 11 a.m. local time today, urged U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer to act within two hours. The urgent plea came as Newsom and other California officials continued to assail Trump's order to 'federalize' 4,000 members of the state's National Guard for a mission to protect federal immigration facilities and personnel amid street protests. The state sued Monday to block that effort as well as Hegseth's subsequent deployment of 700 Marines to assist the National Guard effort. The restraining order request, however, is focused explicitly on a growing expectation among California officials that those troops will soon be sent on arrest missions alongside agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement — raising the likelihood of direct confrontations with L.A. residents. — Troops deployed to LA will cost $134M, Pentagon official says: President Donald Trump's decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles amid mass deportation protests will likely cost $134 million, the Pentagon's budget chief told lawmakers. Acting Pentagon comptroller Bryn MacDonnell, testifying at a House budget hearing today alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said the estimate covers costs such as travel, housing and food. — Trump administration weighs pulling education grants for California: The Trump administration is considering cutting federal education funds to California, according to people familiar with the administration's thinking. The discussion comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump feud over the president's deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles to stop immigration protests. A Trump administration employee, who was not permitted to speak publicly about the administration's plans, told POLITICO the Education Department may stop the disbursement of 'formula funds,' which are awards based on a predetermined formula created by Congress. The administration has not yet reached a final decision, according to a separate person familiar with the discussions. But there is some uncertainty over the department's ability to pull funding that is not directly connected to California's state department of education. — Trump: Protests in DC will be met with 'very heavy force': President Donald Trump warned that any protests during this weekend's major military parade in Washington will be met with 'very heavy force.' 'If there's any protester who wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,' the president said today during an impromptu Oval Office press conference. 'I haven't even heard about a protest, but [there are] people that hate our country.' The comments come as the White House and Washington law enforcement officials are preparing for a military parade on Saturday, which coincides with the Army's 250th — and Trump's 79th — birthday. — Former Biden aides agree to testify on his mental acuity to House Oversight: Four senior Biden White House aides agreed to testify to the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into former President Joe Biden's ailing health while in office, according to a committee aide. Chair James Comer had requested the aides' cooperation with his investigation in May, amid renewed scrutiny in Washington of the former president's mental acuity. Last week, the Kentucky Republican sent a subpoena to Biden's physician Kevin O'Connor, calling him to appear on June 27 after O'Connor rejected Comer's invitation to testify. Even after Biden largely retreated from public view, congressional Republicans have focused extensively on concerns around the octogenarian former president's health. The Senate will hold a hearing on the matter next week. AROUND THE WORLD BRITISH SANCTIONS — Britain will formally sanction two far-right Israeli ministers for their comments over Gaza, the U.K. confirmed today. The assets of Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will be frozen and the pair will also face travel bans, the Times first reported. No financial institutions will be allowed to deal with them. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the ministers had 'incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.' He added: 'These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now — to hold those responsible to account.' In response, Israel said: 'It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures.' Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the Cabinet would meet next week to respond to what he called the 'unacceptable decision.' While the U.S. has continued to stand resolutely behind Israel as it wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, other longtime allies — including the EU, Britain and Canada — have grown increasingly critical of Israel and its military tactics. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have consistently been the most hard-line ministers in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and are crucial allies keeping him in power. 'A DANGER TO US ALL' — The European Commission announced today its latest salvo of sanctions on Russia, taking aim at the Kremlin's energy exports, infrastructure and financial institutions. The measures, which are intended to pile pressure on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine, include proposals to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45 per barrel and ban the use of the Nord Stream pipelines to funnel gas between Russia and Germany. A further 22 Russian banks will also be cut off from the SWIFT international banking system, with the current, partial prohibition on Russian financial institutions broadened to a 'full transaction ban,' Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. Calling the sanctions 'robust' and 'hard-biting,' von der Leyen said the Russian economy was already buckling under the pressure of the EU's past measures and the new package would pummel it further. 'Russia continues to bring death and destruction to Ukraine,' she said at a joint press conference with the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas. 'Our message is clear: This war must end.' Kallas said it was 'clear that Russia does not want peace' and needed to pay the price for its 'outright illegal' war. 'Russia is cruel, aggressive and a danger to us all,' she added. Nightly Number RADAR SWEEP SPEED WINS — New research suggests that the speed at which you walk can reveal how your brain is functioning. And a precipitous decline in walking speed can predict other underlying health problems. It's normal to slow down your walking pace as you age. But people who can keep up a quick pace into their later years are more likely to have a brain that's functioning like that of a younger person than those whose average gait is much slower. The research can even predict survival — a study showed that men with the slowest walking speeds at age 75 had a 19% chance of living for 10 years, compared to men with the fastest walking speeds who had an 87% chance of survival. Jasmin Fox-Skelly reports for the BBC. Parting Image Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store