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.
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.
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.
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.
1. Back up the phone (to the cloud, not USB or whatever, obviously).
2. Wipe the phone.
3. Take the wiped phone across the border.
4. Restore the backup.
5. Repeat on the way back.
Or, if you’re *really* paranoid, leave the phone at home and buy a burner when you get to your destination.
Leave A Reply
Du musst angemeldet sein, um einen Kommentar abzugeben.
2 Kommentare
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.
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.
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.
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.
Read more: [https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protect-yourself-from-phone-searches-at-the-us-border/](https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protect-yourself-from-phone-searches-at-the-us-border/)
Here’s a more concise guide:
1. Back up the phone (to the cloud, not USB or whatever, obviously).
2. Wipe the phone.
3. Take the wiped phone across the border.
4. Restore the backup.
5. Repeat on the way back.
Or, if you’re *really* paranoid, leave the phone at home and buy a burner when you get to your destination.