Last Updated on April 13, 2025 by Christine Kaaloa

– PLEASE SHARE & SPREAD THE WORD as this affects all travelers-

Can U.S. Customs & Border agents search your phone and social media?

Can they make you do a biometric scan? Can border control demand your phone password?

Recently, a U.S. traveler @kevgoatheat on TikTok returning home to the U.S. from a cruise was searched and had his phone searched at the U.S. border. Meanwhile, other travelers have reported feeling pressured into biometric scans at U.S. airports. Currently, a lot of travelers – U.S. and foreign – are wondering if they should travel and what type of hoops they’ll need to jump through.

I’m sharing what you need to know about U.S. airport security changes, to cut through the overwhelm and guessing… at least for the time being.  Let’s break this down before your next trip.

DISCLAIMER: This video and blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. I am not a lawyer, nor digital forensic specialist. I do not encourage or condone any illegal activity and this post is not to assist or promote unlawful behavior. If you have specific legal concerns, consult a qualified attorney. Laws and policies can change, so always verify the latest official guidelines before traveling.

Read about 2025 U.S. Travel Bans

U.S. Airport Security is Changing — Here’s What You Need to Know

Biometric Rights at U.S. Border Entry/Exits

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is rolling out CBP Biometric kiosks (aka facial and/or fingerprint recognition kiosks) at airports, intended for speedy reference checks on non-citizens, but some U.S. passport holders say they’ve felt pressured to comply.  I’ve conducted many of these scans entering other countries so it never occurred to me to question it. But due to the current political climate and intensified immigration crackdown in the U.S., I felt I should look into it more because I wondered if it could ever be used against me at a later date.

Although collected biometric data is said to supposedly be deleted within 24 hours (unless you are flagged as a potential danger to the country), concerns arise about potential misuse. biometric scans cannot be used to unlock our facial recognition identification on our phones and passwords, etc..  But AI technology is evolving quickly (I follow a Keanu Reeves deepfake account on TikTok and it’s scary how accurate it is!).  With our personal information and security being breached by the government, I personally will hold out on U.S. biometric scans until I see what the future holds with that technology.

Also, mistakes happen—facial recognition has misidentified people before. Vulnerabilities can be: ethnicities, sex change, extreme weight loss, plastic surgery, biological twins. So what if you are mismatched with another individual ?

I look ethnic and am mistaken for a lot of different Asian ethnicities when I travel, even though I am a rooted U.S. citizen with generations of relatives being born in the U.S. on both of my parents’ side.  While i’ve performed many biometric scans at many international airports, now is not the time I want to experience A.I. technology “mistakes” entering my own country.  It raises red flag concerns even for me.

• Opt out of biometric scans—according to the biometric policy, you can decline the scan and request manual ID verification instead (aka use your passport). A passport is unquestionable. At least for the time being!

What is an Electronic Search: Is it Legal to Do Search My Phone?

Can CBP search your phone & social media if you’re a U.S. citizen?

Yes. The CBP can do an “electronic search”, where they can search your electric devices such as phone, laptop, iPad, cameras without a warrant under the “border search exception” rule. The rule has been around since 2018- 2019 initially requiring visa applicants to state their social media handles, but the search seems to have expanded and can affect U.S. citizens returning from their travels too. The CBP can check social media, travel history, email, messages and political views.

U.S. citizens can refuse the search, but your phone may be confiscated. If you are a lawyer or have clients with sensitive client material on your phone which you are legally bound to not disclose, you must inform the agent of this.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, then you have no rights.

 Why are phone searches happening at U.S. airports?

CBP (aka border control) cites fraud prevention, national security, and visa compliance as reasons for heightened  scrutiny at land, air, and sea ports.

Due to a new governmental administration, which is cracking down on immigration, there is a growing concern for American and foreign travelers, as recent reports surface about there are deportations, revoked visas, detention and denial of entries, linked to green card holders, legal migrant workers and college professors and doctors, all who had legal status. Some were added for having strong political opinion and anti-presidential remarks. Read these cases. The punishment has been swift, without warning; and in most cases, not giving an individual sufficient time to prepare or make alternate plans.

The political climate of the U.S. has been volatile, erratic, fast and many Americans do not feel like it’s following a constitutional guideline. This makes U.S. travelers feel like concerned, vulnerable and wondering if it blurs the line of free speech.

For foreign travelers, anxiety is sparked as there have been recent news of foreign travelers having been detained. Some cases might have been triggered by foreign travelers having overstayed their visa (or having a past visa infraction), doing a Workaway program without the correct visa or border control seeing a traveler’s intention as “shady”.  Detention was severe (and detention centers -like CoreCivic and Geo Group– make a lot of profit from this!).  It’s more than just a slap on the wrist. The immigration border control crackdown is severe. This news has not inspired confidence in U.S. and foreign travelers.

Note: Domestic travelers should be prepared with their federally compliant identification cards or REAL IDs as ICE or TSA agents have been spotted doing surprise visits at airport gates and travelers have been delayed.

To foreign travelers: Currently there are 10-13 countries who issued travel warnings on the U.S. Please check your country advisory before booking your flight – this includes booking connecting flights as they may be impacted!

Check out Airports with Sleeping Pods and Airports with Free Layover Tours

Electronic search at the U.S. border: What you need to know

U.S. citizens cannot be denied re-entry for refusing a phone/electronics search—but border control can still confiscate your device for weeks to months.

Non-citizens, including visa holders and green card applicants, can be denied entry if they refuse the phone search as it’s been a condition of visa applications to list social media handles since 2018/2019.

Two Types of Electronic Searches by the CBP:

There are two types of searches: basic and advanced, according to the CBP website:

• Basic search (1st)–  The device is placed in airplane mode so it cannot be remotely accessed. Then officers manually review files, your public social media activity, and deleted messages.  Supposedly they cannot access Cloud-based content.
• Advanced search (2nd- Digital Forensic search)– Requires senior manager approval and is when an officer uses external equipment or software to extract content on your phone if “there’s reasonable suspicion of a violation of law enforced or administered by CBP or a national security concern.”  At this point, they might try to intimidate you.
• A strip search cannot be done without a “reasonable suspicion” and must be done in a private area.

What happens if they confiscate my phone or electronics?

If your device is seized, they will give you a 2 page tear sheet (partial example below) stating the terms of your electronic device seizure, how to retrieve your device and that a copy of its contents may be removed and retained by CBP’s Automated Targeting System (ATS) for a period up to 15 years.

It is still important that you write down as much information as possible and ask for CBP supervisor names and if they will give you a location to retrieve your device in the case you cannot retrieve it in person.

Who’s affected first?

As the focus is targeting immigration security, the demographic  below is affected first, as these are the demographics that the new administration has been looking at. It’s important to know what to expect & your rights:

• Travelers from high-security or visa-restricted countries
• Asylum seekers
• Seasonal workers
• Foreign Diplomats
• Student visas
• Green card holders & Dual citizens
• Activists & Journalists (Please travel bloggers– do not say you are a journalist just because you have a blog!)
• Tourist visas – Red flags:
  • Those with prior visa overstay violations, if you are here for possible work on a tourist visa or have a questionable travel history.  They can tell from your social media if you are planning to stay longer beyond your intended visa stay, so make sure your intention is strictly tourism and you are clean.
  • If you do any type of work that receives compensation in any form — it does not have to be monetary– you can flagged as violating your visa terms if you are found taking employment.  A UK backpacker -Becky Burke– was shackled and detained for 19 days due to a visa violation. Her crime–  she admitted to doing household chores in exchange for accommodation.  This means that quintessentially you can be in violation for housesitting! It can also mean that if you are a travel influencer -who is a national of another country- who is working with a U.S. tourism board, you can be placed under scrutiny for having the wrong visa.

Think before you answer border questions

When answering questions from your border agent, it’s easy to feel flustered, be too casual or too chatty. THINK before you speak and keep it brief and simple. Some travelers get flagged being overly helpful and end up saying too much that can be divulge things that trigger suspicion.

The questions may sound like casual conversation to coax you into being relaxed to speak freely, but border agents are listening for responses that trigger a profile.  Answer honestly but avoid being too chatty in your responses. These questions are pointed to suss out suspicion. Avoid jokes — everything you say can be used against you or arouse suspicion.

Applying for a tourist visa?  Whatever you say should match your visa type. Don’t think about how you define yourself, but about how border officials will define your activities. Some travel bloggers erroneously consider themselves  “journalists” because they consider their blog a media publication and they get their visa revoked, because they did not apply for the correct visa and are now under suspicion.

Working in exchange for free room/board can also raise red flags as being considered “work” as you are receiving compensation for the value of your accommodations. 

• Read the ACLU Know Your Rights: Can Border Agents Search Your Electronic Devices? It’s Complicated.

Know your Rights: How to Prepare for Re-Entry into the U.S.

As Customs & Border Protection has increased their security practices,  expect there to be increased scrutiny.  It can bleed over to U.S. citizens returning home from their international trip, where you’re answering light questions about your trip to a border agent, only to find yourself going through a basic search.

Here’s things you can do to prepare for re-entry into the U.S.

•  Bring as few electronic devices as possible with you. Bring your phone with you, but leave your laptop or iPad at home if you can.
• Opt out of biometric scans—request manual ID verification instead (aka use your passport). A passport is unquestionable. At least for the time being!
•  Turn your phone/devices on Airplane mode and turn off your phone before border control— When you turn off your phone it requires a passcode to unlock and border officers cannot force you to give up your password, due to the fact, passwords are protected under the Fifth Ammendment.
•  Disable Face ID & Fingerprint ID unlocks— these are not protected under the Fifth Amendment and can be used.
• If asked to unlock your phone, you can refuse — they do not have the right to go through your phone and take your passwords without consent. If refused, the CBP can still confiscate your device and hold it for weeks to months. Instead, the ACLU recommends using this statement:“I do not consent to this search, but I understand you have the authority to proceed.”  This is a statement you can use to formally object as you comply.
• Manually perform the phone passcode unlock yourself when unlocking your phone for the border agent. Do not let the agent do it and do not give them your passcode and passwords! Change your passcode after you have safely passed the border.
• Store sensitive data and photos in the Cloud. As your phone is put on airport mode, CBP agents will not examine documents there. If you have photos from your trip that feel sensitive (like a photo of yourself in lingerie), upload them to the cloud and reformat your disk, as electronic devices can mean video/cameras too.
• If you are taken for a secondary screening or interview: Remember you have rights! If you know you are innocent, it will feel scary and they may intimidate you OR be real friendly to coax you into talking more. Anything you say can be held against you. If you are a U.S. citizen, then you have the right to remain silent and have a lawyer. Check out this video by U.S. Attorney Makled who was detained at the border.

Quick Digital Security Tips: Read Preparing your Phone for U.S. Airport Screenings. 
Note: This is for all ports of entry as they are conducting this at all borders. Travelers are being checked even at cruise ports.

Tips to Preparing for a Phone Search at the U.S. Border

If you are planning tourism or just returning home to the U.S., it doesn’t hurt to make sure you’re a clean candidate for easy processing.

• Travel with a burner phone.  Having a secondary phone is smart for travelers, as it is disposable. I traveled with a secondary unlocked phone for a couple of years, just so I could use local SIM cards from other countries and not worry about my smartphone being stolen. I know travel content creators that carry two phones for content gathering.
  • • You can buy a $100 used or refurbished smartphone
    • Buy an eSim. I use this one — I like that I can activate it before arriving into a destination via a mobile app. It’s handy when you arrive into a U.S. airport that does not have free WiFi, like Honolulu Airport!
• Do a factory reset your phone. Back your phone up to your cloud storage and then perform a factory reset on it.   By doing a factory reset, your phone’s hard drive is completely erased, where as merely ‘deleting a file’ simply hides the file on your drive. The factory reset will give you default apps and you can download what you need to get past the border. After you are safe at your hotel, you can sync and download your data. Note: The erasure may erase your eSim settings so you will need to activate the eSIM again to use your data plan
• If your phone is taken away, get as much information as you can. The officer’s name, the office location and get as much info as you can and write it down. See this list of Self-Help Options. It shares a checklist of things you can do from listing a CBP Complaint, contact ICE, file a Civil Rights Complaint, etc..
• Put sensitive and political social media posts on Private. Private posts require forensic exams and the basic CBP search scans your public posts.  Note: Do not waste time deleting past actions and unliking things as there may already be a digital footprint and things like keystrokes can be recorded as well as social media apps may show past activitiy. Just put things on Private.
• Put your social media account on Private too. Unless you’re a content creator where you need to be a public account, putting your account on Private, allows only your followers to see what you post.
• Do a healthy digital cleanse on your social media, browsers electronic devices. It’s good to be digitally healthy, especially moving into this century when we are vulnerable to many online scams, hacks and security breaches.  Go through your social media apps settings, where they store your history of searches, likes, interactions, etc..  Often, when companies collect this data, it affects your feed, what is being shown to you . Delete past history and turn OFF history settings so nothing is being saved to your accounts. I’d do it for each app from web browsers to social media apps.Here’s how to turn off tracking on Facebook and Instagram
• There’s a myth going around about Use a VPN when accessing social media abroad. VPNs are handy for traveling, especially in countries like China or Vietnam, where there access to Netflix, Google, Facebook, Instagram are blocked in the country. VPN prevents hides your IP address by masking it with the location of another country.  It has nothing to do with erasing your digital history or footprints on your devices, when you type things in.  I recommend Nord VPN if you get one!
• Use a password manager. Stop using your web browser to store your passwords. I know, I know… it’s convenient. But it can be hacked and conveniently available to anyone who gains to your devices. I use Dashlane as my password manager. They have one of the highest ratings and I trust them. I have a personal premium subscription which includes a VPN and what I like is that it syncs across multiple devices and autofills my password when I go to login to my account. I’ll share my referral link  (we both get six months free – it’s good for the first four signups! )
• Give yourself enough time when doing layovers and airplane transfers, as you may have to go through search/may be pulled out for search and travelers have missed their flights as a result. You want to have at less three hours between your flights.
• Buy Trip insurance Now more than ever is a good time to be insured. In the case you miss your flight, you might be able to recover  your losses. You can use this trip insurance finder tool to search one specific to your needs and budget
• Keep it in perspective. The notion of having your electronics searched can be scary, especially if you are innocent. However, it’s unlikely that many of us will make it to a forensic search where they are scanning as deep as keyboard keystrokes. You’d really have to be seen as a national threat and although line between terrorist activity and freedom of speech opinion is blurring, you’d really have to show some intent towards terrorist activity.

Note:  I’ll be updating this post as more changes and tips evolve, so save this post and check back before traveling.

Have you been asked to unlock your phone or scan your face at the airport?  Is traveling to the U.S. still worth it?

Watch my followup video on Preparing your Phone for Airport Security

Travel Safe Smart and informed and may the GRRR be with you.

DISCLAIMER: This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. I am not a lawyer, and I do not encourage or condone any illegal activity. If you have specific legal concerns, consult a qualified attorney. Laws and policies can change, so always verify the latest official guidelines before traveling.

This video and blog guide is intended to help travelers stay informed and aware of their rights—not to assist or promote unlawful behavior. It does not constitute legal advice and I do not encourage or condone any illegal activity.