Trying to defeat this with technical trickery won't work. "Gee golly gosh you're smart, on through you go" is not a standard CBP response. They will search you

Trying to defeat this with technical trickery won't work. "Gee golly gosh you're smart, on through you go" is not a standard CBP response. They will search your devices. They have a process flow to follow and 'empty contact list' will likely branch to 'second-tier inspection' and laptops will be searched. Much better to keep an old previous-generation smartphone with a minimal but genuine contact list ( immediate family, emergency contact, work & insurance numbers ) and a couple of useful non-social apps and use that when travelling. And only for travelling. No trickery, just hand it over. I don't agree with the policy, but it's policy. I can't change it as one foreign national standing in line, I can only minimise the damage it causes me.