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US Politics

US Politics

How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border

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Summary
Nutrition label

71% Informative

There has been an apparent surge in both foreign visitors and US visa holders being detained, questioned, and even deported at the border.

US Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) officials have the authority to search people’s phones and other devices.

Your legal status and right to enter the US will make a difference in what a search might look like.

Privacy advocates prefer to build a sanitized version of your digital life on the travel phone.

This way, if your device is searched, it won’t have the back catalog of data that exists on your primary phone.

You might make a travel email address, some alternate social media accounts, and a separate account for end-to-end encrypted communications.

There are a few easy things you can do to protect your digital privacy that are better than nothing.

Print a paper boarding pass and remove apps and data you no longer need.

Even if you don’t turn your phone off, stow it in a bag for your entire entry or exit process.

VR Score

63

Informative language

56

Neutral language

54

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

51

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

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