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Even stupider: first class personal mail in the US can not be opened without a warrant. So you can mail your iPhone to your destination before you go. My frie

Even stupider: first class personal mail in the US can not be opened without a warrant. So you can mail your iPhone to your destination before you go. My friend was on a list because his father is a high ranking police officer in another country friendly to the US (if you think about something like an executive in the FBI you'll be close). Every time he entered the US, his electronics were seized -- presumably to see if they could get some information about his father (because spying on friendly countries is still a thing). Since he often went to the US to give talks at conferences, he eventually realised that he could mail his laptop to the conference and it would get there every time.

mandeepj 8y ago
Hoping, he is keeping talk related data in the cloud. Mail can get delayed or lost
URSpider94 8y ago
Sadly, you are mistaken. Domestic First Class mail can not be opened without a warrant, but any mail that crosses a border can be opened and searched at will. Source: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/01/us_customs_open.html https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/01/us_customs_op...
magnetic 8y ago
> Even stupider: first class personal mail in the US can not be opened without a warrant. So you can mail your iPhone to your destination before you go. You can, but postal delivery (especially cross border) suffers from a much higher rate of "packet loss" than you keeping your phone with you, and phones can be incredibly useful during travel before you reach your final destination where the phone is supposedly waiting for you (for example, to call/hire transportation, coordinate with people, notify about delays or that you're ok, make alternative arrangements if there are issues, keep track of connections/flight status, not to mention being able to continue to work or use them for entertainment, etc). Also keep in mind that stuff that crosses the border by mail can also be seized for a variety of reasons. And of course, there is the issue of price: if you want to ship your phone across the border and not be without it for too long, with insurance & tracking, it's not going to be particularly cheap.

mandeepj 8y ago

Hoping, he is keeping talk related data in the cloud. Mail can get delayed or lost

URSpider94 8y ago

Sadly, you are mistaken. Domestic First Class mail can not be opened without a warrant, but any mail that crosses a border can be opened and searched at will. Source: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/01/us_customs_open.html https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/01/us_customs_op...

magnetic 8y ago

> Even stupider: first class personal mail in the US can not be opened without a warrant. So you can mail your iPhone to your destination before you go. You can, but postal delivery (especially cross border) suffers from a much higher rate of "packet loss" than you keeping your phone with you, and phones can be incredibly useful during travel before you reach your final destination where the phone is supposedly waiting for you (for example, to call/hire transportation, coordinate with people, notify about delays or that you're ok, make alternative arrangements if there are issues, keep track of connections/flight status, not to mention being able to continue to work or use them for entertainment, etc). Also keep in mind that stuff that crosses the border by mail can also be seized for a variety of reasons. And of course, there is the issue of price: if you want to ship your phone across the border and not be without it for too long, with insurance & tracking, it's not going to be particularly cheap.