How to lock down your phone if you're traveling to the U.S.

Posted by sipofwater 4/9/2025

How to lock down your phone if you're traveling to the U.S.(www.washingtonpost.com)

290 points | 339 commentspage 3

elif 4/9/2025|

this post is not really practical advice if you want to actually enter the US.

here's some: mail it

anon291 4/10/2025||

Here's the most practical advice... The border agent isn't going to care unless you're actually planning some kind of terror attack.

9283409232 4/9/2025||

This is not practical advice either. US Customs will happily open your package and go through it for "inspection"

elif 4/9/2025||

US customs on mail parcels cannot 1) compel you to unlock your device 2) threaten you with deportation for non-compliance

not to mention that there are rooms and people trained in every airport to scan your phone as a routine component of their daily function WHEREAS customs on mail are 90% concerned about duties and 10% concerned about smuggling. 0% on what kinda sms you send to your buddies

ChocolateGod 4/9/2025||

No but it gives them far more time to plug your phone into a device that dumps the device for decryption later, as well as attempting any kind of security backdoors/exploits, or even clone the SIM card.

AstralStorm 4/10/2025||

All of which is illegal for them to do for the moment, as opposed to TSA.

vzaliva 4/9/2025||

One thing I would definetely do is to secure my password manager. This would minimise potential exposure in the future in case your phone is backed up in some government database. 1Password have a feature for that: https://support.1password.com/travel-mode/

pandemic_region 4/9/2025|

I find it absolutely mind blowing that people trust their secrets to be kept secure by a commercial company that needs to obey the laws in another country. In the light of recent geopolitical turmoil it makes even less sense.

senderista 4/9/2025||

I would love to visit Russia or Iran as a tourist, but I'll probably never be able to do that safely, and if I weren't a US citizen I would feel the same about the US. The US has many beautiful and fascinating things to see and do, but so do lots of other countries that won't throw you in a gulag.

necovek 4/9/2025||

It seems increasingly likely that it's going to be pretty pleasant to visit Russia as an American with how things are developing (Americans are learning to tone down on their freedoms, and presidents of the two countries have a lot in common so Russia and USA might just be friends again very soon now).

lazyeye 4/9/2025||

The amount of insanely overblown hyperbole in HN comments is extraordinary...

highstep 4/9/2025||

Vegas is fun, but not fun enough to justify having to worry about this stuff. My days of visiting the USA are over.

vlod 4/9/2025||

Or use the n-1 phone you already have in that junk drawer.

I have old pixel phone that will work for simple stuff.

JKCalhoun 4/9/2025||

> Don’t just take a wiped phone

Oh, and if I don't have (bring) a phone at all?

ben_w 4/9/2025||

Because phones are really useful.

I've got an old blackberry lying around somewhere. Even though that helps with "can you communicate at all with people not in shouting distance", there's a lot of stuff that just presumes you have the ability to install an app or visit a website — and that blackberry is so old that its web browser can't handle current standard HTTPS encryption.

hiq 4/9/2025||

I guess that's what you're implying, but my bet is that you would look suspicious.

JKCalhoun 4/9/2025||

Maybe I can tattoo a US flag on my bicep. Or did I go too far?

throwway120385 4/9/2025|||

It needs to have one blue stripe and 6 navy stripes otherwise it's considered unpatriotic. The old red and white version was too inclusive.

selimthegrim 4/9/2025||

Might clock him as an East India Company cosplayer.

esafak 4/9/2025|||

Too Much and Never Enough.

wg0 4/9/2025||

Even Arab dictatorships don't search phones on entry. What's happening here?

dboreham 4/9/2025||

To be fair, Canadian border agents have been looking at some travelers' phones for years. A typical scenario might be: "So why are you entering Canada?" ; "Visiting friends, on holiday" (traveler carrying a suitcase full of tattoo equipment); "Ok let's look at your phone" ; "Interesting, in this SMS thread from yesterday your friend says 'looking forward to you starting work in the tattoo studio'". Entry denied.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/edd-ean-eng.html

dude187 4/9/2025||

Where did you get that idea? First one I picked to look up (Saudi Arabia) does, and I guarantee all the rest do as well

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-tra...

MikeTheGreat 4/9/2025||

I'm seeing a lot of discussion here about how to prepare your phone for a border crossing, which is fascinating.

I was wondering about a different strategy: what about leaving your phone at home and then buying a new one after you've crossed the border?

It seems like it wouldn't be any less work than 'clean wipe and full restore post-crossing' and has the advantage that border agents can't search what you don't have.

If your trip is short and the return policy sufficiently generous, you might even be able to clean wipe the phone and return it before you cross again.

I'd be curious to hear what people think about something like this.

necovek 4/9/2025||

Having a working phone is very useful for the rest of your trip in case of any issue during the trip.

barbazoo 4/9/2025||

> what about leaving your phone at home and then buying a new one after you've crossed the border?

> I'd be curious to hear what people think about something like this.

Because you asked. It's extremely wasteful and therefore a bad idea.

root_axis 4/9/2025||

Too technical and nerve-racking for my loved ones traveling across the border. The solution most people I know (who are not born in the u.s.) have landed on is don't post or share any political articles, memes or reels, especially in DMs. If someone sends you political content, delete the message afterwards. The silver lining is that eschewing that content has some mental health benefits.

I would imagine that stories, snapchat, and disappearing message features are probably safe, but I tell my loved-ones that it's not exactly clear what type of meta-data might remain on the device even using those features.

standeven 4/9/2025||

“Just don’t share opinions” is not an option for a free society. Being gagged for fear of retribution from a foreign government is not beneficial to my mental health.

root_axis 4/9/2025|||

Obviously not, but locking down your phone is just not practical for most people. Of course, avoiding travel to the u.s. is the safest approach, but it's not that simple for many of us who have spouses, siblings, parents etc who were not born in the u.s.

aeternum 4/9/2025|||

Then don't travel, in many countries the penalty for disparaging the leader of that country is quite severe.

standeven 4/9/2025||

It’s sad that the USA is becoming one of these countries. But yes, that’s what I’m doing - travelling to free countries and avoiding the backwards ones.

aeternum 4/9/2025||

IMO the USA is not becoming one of those countries and people are just fearmongering. But legally they can do it so it's better to take precautions anyway.

root_axis 4/9/2025||

Why do you say it's fearmongering? There have already been several examples of it in recent months.

Here's one example: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/trump-musk-f...

aeternum 4/9/2025||

DHS claims he admitted to having confidential info from Los Alamos that violated an NDA https://x.com/TriciaOhio/status/1902881013220385220

It also sounds like the guy was actively and openly trying to convince researchers to leave the US for France. May have even been the purpose of the trip.

Free speech is one thing, extending a visa to foreign individuals that are actively working against the country's interests is another. Few if any countries would grant visas knowing that intent.

root_axis 4/15/2025||

I looked online to verify the claims stated therein and couldn't. Do you have any sources beyond a random tweet?

dboreham 4/9/2025||

The solution for my family: don't travel to the US until the fascist regime is ousted.

root_axis 4/9/2025|||

A totally rational choice and certainly the safest one. However, some people are are willing to take the risk in order to be with their loved ones.

anon291 4/10/2025|||

Yeah this is why I don't travel in most of Europe

admiralrohan 4/9/2025|

I watched a vlog on travelling to North Korea and they didn't check his phone.

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