How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border

Customs 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.

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.

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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 everythin#g smartphone.. . #MarketRebound .$ETH $BNB #TrumpVsPowell $XRP