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Is it worth it to clear those devices and restore from cloud backup after crossing?
by intopieces 10y ago
Is it worth it to clear those devices and restore from cloud backup after crossing?
- strmpnk 10y agoThis is exactly what I was thinking too. I have my old phone I wouldn't mind using for travel. I'd just keep that one mostly empty and swap the SIM card when traveling. Alternatively a backup could work as long as you place it somewhere online or hide it well so they can't ask for that to be decrypted at the border as well.
- tptacek 10y agoI think so. But you want to do it in such a way that there's no "restore" button you could push on your phone once you're compelled to log in to any accounts that are clearly associated with the phone. One way to do this would be to back your phone up, encrypt it, and stash the file somewhere else, then scrub the phone and back that up so that you could, if under questioning by CBP, perform a plausible restore.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- hollander 10y agoWhat if they ask you for your Google account(s)? Google is social media! Google Plus!?
- DashRattlesnake 10y agoCreate a plausible decoy account. I've literally created dozens of gmail accounts, for other purposes, might as well have one for this.
- tom_mellior 10y agoYou mean if you want to look like you have something to hide? Yeah, that might help...
- TillE 10y agoIf you're already detained with your phone being searched, there's not a lot more they can do after encountering a wiped phone. But if you want to be clever about it, just wipe the phone and create a separate account with your most important contacts and stuff. Nobody's going to interrogate you for having insufficient apps.
- intopieces 10y agoBut I do have something to hide. My personal information. This something I want to hide. Pretending like I'm an open book only encourages the bastards, no?
- tom_mellior 10y agoYes, but so does a super-clean phone, I'd guess.
- mirimir 10y agoNo. First, as others noted, it creates suspicion. Second, you can't trust devices after authorities have messed with them. Maybe they're backdoored. Best option is to carry only inexpensive devices, containing no sensitive information. If they're searched, just throw them away later.
- haswell 10y agoEasier said than done if you travel regularly. Work takes me on the road a few dozen times/year. Not all of that travel is international, but I do rely on having easy access to my personal devices to maintain sanity with that lifestyle. Even cheap throwaway devices become expensive over time.
- intopieces 10y agoSince the chance of search is on the order of what, .0012% though? According to the article. If we're going down the backdoor rabbit hole, we need to abandon smart devices entirely. Not feasible.