Slate Daily Feed What Next: TBD | Summer Travel Tips To Not Get Detained
Jun 15, 2025
Lily Hay Newman, a senior writer at WIRED specializing in information security, shares essential tips for travelers to protect their digital lives at the border. She discusses alarming trends of detention at U.S. borders and the risks of device searches. Newman emphasizes strategies like using 'burner phones' to keep personal data safe and balancing convenience with security. The conversation also highlights the erosion of privacy in the digital age, urging travelers to be proactive in safeguarding their information amidst evolving border security practices.
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CBP's Broad Search Powers at Borders
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can search devices without a warrant at borders and airports.
- Declining a search can cause suspicion and lead to further detention or interrogation.
Subjectivity in CBP Phone Searches
- CBP searches focus on characteristics like religion, political beliefs, and security-conscious apps.
- What they view as suspicious can be subjective and tied to profiling.
Use a Seeded Travel Phone
- Use a separate travel device with limited data to reduce exposure.
- Seed it with some common, non-sensitive content to avoid suspicion of it being a burner phone.