Print EFF Pocket Guide to Finding a Border Before Traveling Overseas
Airport security in the United States is becoming increasingly uncomfortable , and confusing travel bans and other border searches make it difficult to keep track of what your rights are. Fortunately, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has prepared a quick pocket guide that breaks down your digital rights.
The Pocket Guide is a rundown of their more in-depth digital rights guide that walks you through your rights to everything from USB keys to digital cameras. The point is, if you are crossing the United States border, whether you are a citizen or a visitor, border agents may ask you to view your digital data. You can always deny these requests, but that could mean they’ll get you on hold, and since the courts will deal with what constitutes confidentiality and what doesn’t, it may be easier to simply prepare your devices ahead of time. The border is not a zone free from the Constitution, but this does not mean that sometimes it is not difficult to pass through it.
To that end, the EFF offers a few simple pre-travel tricks like logging out of any cloud services, then uninstalling associated apps, backing up all of your data, and using full disk encryption for something like a laptop. If you’re just traveling with your phone, the quickest solution is to simply uninstall all apps that connect to cloud services or social media. If it’s not on your phone, they won’t be able to access it. The Pocket Guide is a handy addition to your travel bag that’s just as useful for foreign visitors as it is for US citizens.
Digital Privacy at the US Border: New How-To Guide from EFF | EFF