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What to do if border police ask to search your phone (reason.com)
submitted 1 day ago by schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 day ago

Option one: just don't go to the USA

Option two: if you really have to go, don't take your phone.

Option three: if you really need a phone, take a burner

Be sure to not have any Google or Hotmail account, as in unsure about their "powers" to force you to login to your email accounts. Have a non US mail provider at the very least.

[-] Charlxmagne@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago

Best thing to do is just avoid the states all together, I've done it my whole life and am continuing doing so.

[-] skvlp@lemm.ee 64 points 1 day ago

Realise you’re about to enter a bad place, turn around and go back

[-] LiamTheBox@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago

Pull the glock and clock out

[-] dumbass@leminal.space 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Ok, I've pulled the Glock and my cock out, now what?

[-] adespoton@lemmy.ca 65 points 1 day ago

Realistically, what the article suggests to me is that I should carry a burner phone when crossing borders and if I need my real phone, turn on lockdown mode and then turn it off and stow it in my luggage with the understanding that it may get confiscated and never returned.

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 1 day ago

Mail it to your destination.

[-] suburban_hillbilly@lemmy.ml 48 points 1 day ago

Encrypted backup -> remote storage -> factory reset -> cross border -> restore backup.

[-] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 5 points 1 day ago

How can you do this especially if you don’t pay for cloud storage? I have self hosted cloud

[-] Zerush@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Filen offers 10GB for free, encrypted, no-knowledge, OpenSource, made in the EU

[-] suburban_hillbilly@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 day ago

VPN to your cloud server.

[-] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 5 points 1 day ago

But how would I backup everything from an iPhone? I got photos and contacts down. Idk about the rest. Maybe you’ve given me a new project.

[-] lol_idk@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 day ago

Pay for one month of iCloud, it's $3 to $11 depending on need. Cancel after trip.

[-] eveninghere@beehaw.org 2 points 1 day ago

Macs, or iTunes on Windows. There are two modes of a backup: actual one or backup in name only (like the names of the apps, I wish the latter fucks off).

[-] AtariDump@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

iCloud.

Local iTunes backups don’t work over a VPN. Those are your only two ways to get a system level backup.

Edit: Downvotes don’t make it any less true.

[-] MidsizedSedan@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Even though I have nothing incriminating on my phone, I still do a check up on my phone before I go to the airport. Just move all my photos/files/downloads to my PC.

[-] Charlxmagne@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Regardless of what you or anyone has on your phone that is, in any context dystopian and authoritarian asf, there's already been cases of people being detained by US border authorities for anything anti-govt. found on their devices. It's like Trump read 1984 and thought it was an instruction manual.

Worst part is he's disguising himself as a libertarian and someone who's pro free-speech, when his ideas of libertarianism only extend to his govt. and cronies and his ideas of freedom of speech extend to his own views and his own supporters. He's using the guise of being censored himself to censor literally anyone who opposes him.

On another note, for those who don't care abt using free software, or don't care about privacy cuz they have "nothing to hide". Think about how much power the US govt. has over data collecting corps. like Microsoft, Google and apple, now think abt how much power a man like Trump can give himself over the US govt. How much control do u rlly have over your own devices? If there's no way to truly, freely express yourself without govt. interference then there is no democracy.

[-] Auli@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

I used to backup my phone wipe it and then restore once across the boarder.

[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

This very message might already be cause for incrimination at this stage

Leave your phone at home

[-] Professorozone@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Most "incriminating" stuff (if I even know what that is) ON my android phone is probably text messaging. I use a program called Textra. Any suggestions for that?

The rest would be in the cloud, like comments here or on YouTube videos or wherever Google stores the stuff I say while my phone is near.

IDK, kind of thinking about leaving it at home, but I really want the communication while I'm in airports and I use it for music on airplanes and in hotel showers and stuff.

[-] OminousOrange@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 day ago
  1. Don't go to the United States

If you really have to...

  1. Backup phone.
  2. Factory reset (make sure you really backed up everything)
  3. Install only essential apps (not from backup). Don't log into anything.
  4. Cross border. (you just got a new phone and haven't set it up yet)
  5. Restore backup.
[-] Professorozone@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

Well, regrettably, I live here. I will, also regrettably, be returning from a trip to Europe.

But I didn't really want to lose my text conversations. Very little of it has to do with politics but, you know, there's probably some on there somewhere.

[-] Auli@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

SMS Import/Export has worked really well for me lately.

[-] OminousOrange@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 day ago

You won't lose them if you back them up. SMS Backup and Restore can automate the task for you.

[-] Professorozone@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I'll look into it. In the past I seen to recall that all of the contacts were there but the previous conversations were either fine or severely truncated.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago

Say no

[-] adespoton@lemmy.ca 46 points 1 day ago

Probably worth reading the article. There are consequences to saying “no” at the border.

[-] Goretantath@lemm.ee 22 points 1 day ago

Saying no at these checkpoints means they force you to pull over further and force a search through everything in your car including you. Literal videos of people having their windows bashed in and bodies dragged out of the vehicle.

[-] eldavi@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 day ago

including you.

inside you as well and with the only intent of "teaching you a lesson" for not obeying them.

cpb, ice, & the police are cut from the same thin-blue-line cloth.

[-] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 day ago

Lawsuit alert lol

[-] wuphysics87@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago

Get a fair phone and dismantle it

this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
109 points (98.2% liked)

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