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If you want to keep your phone secure, enable a long passcode, turn on full device encryption, and turn it off. If you are a US citizen, you can't be turned awa

If you want to keep your phone secure, enable a long passcode, turn on full device encryption, and turn it off. If you are a US citizen, you can't be turned away at the border or forced to unlock the device. If you're not a US citizen or don't want to be harrassed by customs, bring a burner phone. Tools like Cellebrite can and do take advantage of security vulnerabilities. Turning off pair locking lulls users into a false sense of security and is therefore harmful. Further, only restricting CBP searches to "manual" searches isn't enough and does plenty of damage to your privacy.

ibreakthings 7y ago
It's worth noting that if you go this route, they cannot turn you away but they can hold you for quite some time, and they can keep your phone while they investigate further when they release you.
saagarjha 7y ago
You can also press the lock button five times to make it refuse to unlock without a valid passcode.
- sokoloff 7y ago
  Just tried that (iPhone 8) and it did reject my fingerprint but only after issuing a loud WHOOP WHOOP “Emergency SOS” and 3 second countdown to make an emergency call (presumably 911). Hardly a stealth move to pull at the border!
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    Oh, I keep that feature off so I didn’t realize it also will dial the emergency number. Thanks for the heads up!
  - lysium 7y ago
    Press and hold volume up and lock button. No sound.
ehsankia 7y ago
I'm curious, would putting your real device in checked in bag and bringing a separate device / burner with you generally enough for bypassing it, or do they check all devices in your bags?
- cazum 7y ago
  If customs detains you with the intent of searching your electronics, they will almost certainly open your checked-in luggage and search that as well.
- gnopgnip 7y ago
  Generally you have all your check bags with you when going through customs.
  - geggam 7y ago
    I always get my checked bag after going through customs
    - sokoloff 7y ago
      Really? I typically go through immigration control, then get my bags, then go through customs. I can’t imagine how you could go through customs without your bags and have them have specific evidence of your customs violation. I always assumed that’s why some airports make you manually handle luggage and “carry it over a line” to give back for rechecking.
      - geggam 7y ago
        You are right. I was thinking immigration control.
  - ehsankia 7y ago
    Right, but do they usually only check the device on you, or do they also go through every device in your bags?
woutr_be 7y ago
I really wish Apple would put something in place where you effectively have two user accounts. If you type your actually passcode, it's just your normal account. If you type another specific passcode, it's a burner account with minimal apps and information. It has enough info to make it look like it's being used, but nothing important. Obviously border control would quickly know about this, but there's no way to verify.
- JumpCrisscross 7y ago
  > there's no way to verify Obscuring in this manner likely counts as lying to a federal officer, particularly if they catch on and ask if this is your main profile.
  - mrandish 7y ago
    INAL but I don't think that legally it would be lying. I believe lying requires more than not complying. Plus, we always have the right to remain silent.
    - thenewnewguy 7y ago
      Even if true, border officials will start asking everyone "is this your main profile". I guess you could refuse to answer, but that will make the answer obvious.
    - akhosravian 7y ago
      The right to remain silent isn’t the right to intentionally lie.
    - outworlder 7y ago
      > Plus, we always have the right to remain silent. No you don't. Not at the border.
      - sneak 7y ago
        Your statement is untrue. You have the right to remain silent at the border as well.
epistasis 7y ago
> If you are a US citizen, you can't be turned away at the border or forced to unlock the device. There's an important divide between what customs is supposed to do, and what they might actually do in practice. Going through customs means putting yourself at the whims of people that you do not control. If you're a white male, there's perhaps less of a chance that a bad employee will feel they can take advantage of you, but there's still the chance.
- xorfish 7y ago
  Last time I looked it up, law enforcement would treat white women the most lenient, followed by black women. White men are treated a bit worse than black women and of course, black men were treated harsher than the other groups.
  - earenndil 7y ago
    Was that controlled? That is, did they measure only illegitimate detainments? Because I'm sure crime rates vary by demographic.
    - xorfish 7y ago
      Found it: https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-projects-and-surveys/miscellaneous/15-year-study/chap4.pdf https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-pu... It seems controlled for the same crimes.
- neuronic 7y ago
  Are there stats on the "ethnic composition" of CBP? I must have developed some strange cognitive bias from crossing the border but purely from subjective guessing I would think that a very significant number of CBP agents are non-white. So a question arises in me: why are they allegedly preferring whites over others in terms of extended screening measures etc.?
  - NetOpWibby 7y ago
igammarays 7y ago
> If you are a US citizen, you can't be turned away at the border or forced to unlock the device. A warrant is not required. Federal agents can search your phone at the US border, even if you're a US citizen [1]. If they can't unlock it, they can seize it [2]. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/can-us-border-agents-search-your-phone-at-the-airport-2017-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/can-us-border-agents-search-... [2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/05/01/u-s-customs-can-seize-your-phone-when-you-return-home-abroad/3632116002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/05/01/u-s-customs-c...
- toomanybeersies 7y ago
  Those two points aren't exclusive. They've now seized a secure phone and are still required to let you enter the country. I wonder what would happen if you tried to claim insurance on a phone seized at the border?
  - sideshowb 7y ago
    They'd likely point to the clause that excludes seizure by authorities, which most policies have.
  - rendall 7y ago
    I believe, in theory at least, they are obligated to return the device when their investigations are complete.
- rendall 7y ago
  You are both correct. Incidentally, the "border" for legal purposes extends 100 miles into the interior.
  - jeroenhd 7y ago
    Exactly this. And remember that international airports are also borders!
    - 7y ago
proaralyst 7y ago
As I just learned: Android limits password lengths to 16 characters, so you can't use passphrases.

ibreakthings 7y ago

It's worth noting that if you go this route, they cannot turn you away but they can hold you for quite some time, and they can keep your phone while they investigate further when they release you.

saagarjha 7y ago

You can also press the lock button five times to make it refuse to unlock without a valid passcode.

sokoloff 7y ago
Just tried that (iPhone 8) and it did reject my fingerprint but only after issuing a loud WHOOP WHOOP “Emergency SOS” and 3 second countdown to make an emergency call (presumably 911). Hardly a stealth move to pull at the border!
- saagarjha 7y ago
  Oh, I keep that feature off so I didn’t realize it also will dial the emergency number. Thanks for the heads up!
- lysium 7y ago
  Press and hold volume up and lock button. No sound.

ehsankia 7y ago

I'm curious, would putting your real device in checked in bag and bringing a separate device / burner with you generally enough for bypassing it, or do they check all devices in your bags?

cazum 7y ago
If customs detains you with the intent of searching your electronics, they will almost certainly open your checked-in luggage and search that as well.
gnopgnip 7y ago
Generally you have all your check bags with you when going through customs.
- geggam 7y ago
  I always get my checked bag after going through customs
  - sokoloff 7y ago
    Really? I typically go through immigration control, then get my bags, then go through customs. I can’t imagine how you could go through customs without your bags and have them have specific evidence of your customs violation. I always assumed that’s why some airports make you manually handle luggage and “carry it over a line” to give back for rechecking.
    - geggam 7y ago
      You are right. I was thinking immigration control.
- ehsankia 7y ago
  Right, but do they usually only check the device on you, or do they also go through every device in your bags?

woutr_be 7y ago

I really wish Apple would put something in place where you effectively have two user accounts. If you type your actually passcode, it's just your normal account. If you type another specific passcode, it's a burner account with minimal apps and information. It has enough info to make it look like it's being used, but nothing important. Obviously border control would quickly know about this, but there's no way to verify.

JumpCrisscross 7y ago
> there's no way to verify Obscuring in this manner likely counts as lying to a federal officer, particularly if they catch on and ask if this is your main profile.
- mrandish 7y ago
  INAL but I don't think that legally it would be lying. I believe lying requires more than not complying. Plus, we always have the right to remain silent.
  - thenewnewguy 7y ago
    Even if true, border officials will start asking everyone "is this your main profile". I guess you could refuse to answer, but that will make the answer obvious.
  - akhosravian 7y ago
    The right to remain silent isn’t the right to intentionally lie.
  - outworlder 7y ago
    > Plus, we always have the right to remain silent. No you don't. Not at the border.
    - sneak 7y ago
      Your statement is untrue. You have the right to remain silent at the border as well.

epistasis 7y ago

> If you are a US citizen, you can't be turned away at the border or forced to unlock the device. There's an important divide between what customs is supposed to do, and what they might actually do in practice. Going through customs means putting yourself at the whims of people that you do not control. If you're a white male, there's perhaps less of a chance that a bad employee will feel they can take advantage of you, but there's still the chance.

xorfish 7y ago
Last time I looked it up, law enforcement would treat white women the most lenient, followed by black women. White men are treated a bit worse than black women and of course, black men were treated harsher than the other groups.
- earenndil 7y ago
  Was that controlled? That is, did they measure only illegitimate detainments? Because I'm sure crime rates vary by demographic.
  - xorfish 7y ago
    Found it: https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-projects-and-surveys/miscellaneous/15-year-study/chap4.pdf https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-pu... It seems controlled for the same crimes.
neuronic 7y ago
Are there stats on the "ethnic composition" of CBP? I must have developed some strange cognitive bias from crossing the border but purely from subjective guessing I would think that a very significant number of CBP agents are non-white. So a question arises in me: why are they allegedly preferring whites over others in terms of extended screening measures etc.?
- NetOpWibby 7y ago

igammarays 7y ago

> If you are a US citizen, you can't be turned away at the border or forced to unlock the device. A warrant is not required. Federal agents can search your phone at the US border, even if you're a US citizen [1]. If they can't unlock it, they can seize it [2]. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/can-us-border-agents-search-your-phone-at-the-airport-2017-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/can-us-border-agents-search-... [2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/05/01/u-s-customs-can-seize-your-phone-when-you-return-home-abroad/3632116002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/05/01/u-s-customs-c...

toomanybeersies 7y ago
Those two points aren't exclusive. They've now seized a secure phone and are still required to let you enter the country. I wonder what would happen if you tried to claim insurance on a phone seized at the border?
- sideshowb 7y ago
  They'd likely point to the clause that excludes seizure by authorities, which most policies have.
- rendall 7y ago
  I believe, in theory at least, they are obligated to return the device when their investigations are complete.
rendall 7y ago
You are both correct. Incidentally, the "border" for legal purposes extends 100 miles into the interior.
- jeroenhd 7y ago
  Exactly this. And remember that international airports are also borders!
  - 7y ago

proaralyst 7y ago

As I just learned: Android limits password lengths to 16 characters, so you can't use passphrases.