Returning from vacation? The government can search your phone without a warrant

Re:Returning from vacation? The government can search your p... by tdsanchez on Thursday October 01, 2026 @09:16AM (#49921269)

Carry a burner old phone and ship your actual. Be prepared to smash the phone or otherwise brutalize it if they demand to search it, then let them have at it.

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Re:Returning from vacation? The government can search your p... by artisinal on Thursday October 01, 2026 @11:18AM (#49922849)

If you have an iPhone Air you can smuggle it inside your prison pocket while you carry a burner.

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Re:Returning from vacation? The government can search your p... by criddell on Thursday October 01, 2026 @10:02AM (#49921845)

Smash the phone? That's terrible advice. For just about everybody, destroying the phone is probably going to get them in a lot more trouble than the contents ever would.

If you don't cooperate they can hold you for a while and make all kinds of threats but, if you are a citizen, ultimately they cannot deny you entry.

If I were truly paranoid, I'd probably travel with flip phone and an iPad with typical (non-sensitive) apps on it and a remote desktop client that I could use to connect to my computer back home. Make sure the remote desktop client isn't installed on the iPad during border crossings.

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