The single best advice I can add to this is, if you don't want your device searched at the border, don't take it with you. All your data is generally in the clo

The single best advice I can add to this is, if you don't want your device searched at the border, don't take it with you. All your data is generally in the cloud. So last time I went to the US, I took a Nokia 6280 dumbphone with me instead of my Android smartphone (this would later prove awkward because very few base stations were compatible with the frequencies the 6280 uses and I had very limited signal for the entire trip). But the fundamental takeaway was - even if CBP had confiscated my phone, all they would have is my SIM card. There's literally nothing useful on a phone like that, apart from text messages, which are already sent unencrypted over GSM anyway and should be assumed to be monitored. I also take a secondary laptop with me, which has a bare Linux install with enough to keep me occupied on the plane (and extremely good battery life), but nothing of any particular importance on it. If you're travelling and don't need all the features of your primary device, it's a perfectly legal and practical approach to preserving your privacy. Just because you have nothing to hide does not mean you have nothing to protect.