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The U.S. Government Quietly Just Made It Legal to Go Through Your Phone at the Border (lataco.com)
submitted 1 day ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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An Appeals Court panel has ruled that federal agents can legally search through travelers' cell phones without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or a warrant when they cross an international border.

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[–] 11 points 20 hours ago (4 children)

With protesting and dissent nearing illegality, It's no longer safe to have password managers, browser history or social media on your phone. (at borders for now)

I see a lot of people saying just shut it off. They will turn it on, tell you to unlock it, you refuse, they'll detain you, try tools to bypass, confiscate it (you need to make sure you get a receipt) and they'll let you out without it at some point. Even citizens can get detained for periods greater than 24 hours.

If you express any public dissent toward the administration, you should consider traveling with a dumb phone or a burner, not connected to your email/social online services/password systems.

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  • [–] 3 points 16 hours ago* (3 children)

    With protesting and dissent nearing illegality, It’s no longer safe to have password managers, browser history or social media on your phone. (at borders for now)

    I had not considered the risk of having a password manager on my phone and being cohered to unlock it. There's nothing dissentious there to find so I'm not concerned about that (don't infer from that that I think it's acceptable that they can look, I do not). But what's to stop them from stealing financial login info while they're at it? That's the worry that just triggered.

    If you express any public dissent toward the administration, you should consider traveling with a dumb phone or a burner, not connected to your email/social online services/password systems.

    Traveling with a dumb phone isn't always viable. A recent example I can think of is I had to scan a QR code and fill out a customs form on a website. There was not a paper based alternative. But a burner works.

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  • [–] 2 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

    Yeah, that and actually taking decent pictures. If you just need a function, you can get non-flagship Android burners really cheap, or just keep a previous phone, wipe it, and travel with an eSIM.

    My primary concern isn't so much what i'm saying now, but what they think about it later if we keep heading toward darker times.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 hours ago (1 child)

    Yeah, that and actually taking decent pictures.

    Cheap phone + nice camera is another option. But with the downside of more to pack and carry around.

    My primary concern isn't so much what i'm saying now, but what they think about it later if we keep heading toward darker times.

    ... yeah that feels entirely possible. Valid concern.

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