Hi guys Feel bad writing a new post on a discussed topic but I didn’t want to necrobump an old thread. But I’m suddenly traveling abroad and wanted some advise on handling border inspections while protecting my personal devices. So I have done my due diligence first and read through some recent fo…

You said what I was thinking better than I could :smiley: That’s exactly what I meant: there’s no authority or authorization telling me that “I have to have everything on my smartphone,” while (I imagine) it could be frowned upon to hand over a smartphone without mentioning that “there are other pr…

If you’re not concerned about raising suspicion with carrying a blank phone, then there’s no suspicion with carry a grapheneOS phone with a blank profile if it’s only “frowned upon”. If the risk is they ask you to unlock your other profile (as if airport security would know what that is), then just …

Your approach requires people to purposefully mislead government officials in a way that will be very easy for them to prove. It is a much higher risk legally. If you’re able and willing to travel with a recently reset phone, why not? Reinstalling apps is very easy once you’re through.

Yes you are being paranoid. Unless you are up to something that would arouse sufficient suspicion airport security will have no interest in your phone other than telling you to put it in the plastic tray. I think it’s worth taking a spare, you can get a 6a cheap as chips and if you lose or break y…

I would add that the chance of border agents wanting to seize or inspect your phone is very, very remote. Generally speaking there needs to be some other factor involved. Are you affiliated with any political groups the U.S. might find concerning or are you traveling from a country known for crimi…

I don’t know if you’re american, but the perception of the United States here in Europe right now is more or less like traveling to China or other dictatorships. Of course, one hopes this perception is wrong or exaggerated, but based on the news we’re getting, if I were forced to go to the United St…

That perception is 150% understandable. As an American I can only apologize for…well a lot that’s happened in the last 12 months. However, while things have gotten worse they have not gotten as bad as an actual authoritarian country. I don’t blame anyone for avoiding travel to the U.S. right now …

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This is an accurate perception. “Rights" essentially no longer exist in the us because the law is whatever clarence thomas and his fascist, fraudster buddies say it is. Take steps to protect yourself no matter what this other person in the thread is saying.

Can you elaborate on this post? Foreigners are not allowed entry to the us if they refuse to open their phone when asked by border agents. So, the issue wouldn’t be whether or not they’ve tampered with your os, it would be whether or not they detained you, confiscated your phone, and sent you home …

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Am I being paranoid? (International travel with smart devices)

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Tux January 17, 2026, 10:54pm 23

I agree with this. For all the FUD, the chances of a device being seized and searched at the (U.S.) border is extremely low. That being said, if you’re paranoid or truly have something to hide, don’t travel with your main phone.

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Am I being paranoid? (International travel with smart devices)

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