[DanHulton]

If your threat model means you can’t afford for border security to view your device, wipe the damn thing yourself before crossing the border and restore it from an encrypted online backup on the other side.

You’re just carrying a blank phone that you intend to set up and use later, and they can’t force you to install your backup onto a phone.

Now, this is sus as hell, and you’ll probably draw all kinds of extra attention, but if border security wants access to your phone in the first place, you’re already in a weird place.

[bobthepanda]

this isn't even that weird, when I worked in a BigTech it was pretty explicit that there were certain countries where you should not bring your actual work device through the border, and you'll get set up with a different one while in that country.

[tonyedgecombe]

It's a shame that the US appears on that list now.

[badatnames]

Half of Europe does, it's just that everyone talks about the US like it's a special case because those searches happen routinely. It's legal to search a phone without reasonable suspicion at airports in the UK under the Terrorism act 2000 (pre-9/11!)

[Varelion]

I really hate that these kinds of justifications almost always ends up to serve as a push for acceptance through apathy of the status-quo, as opposed to fueling that outrage that pushes for positive change.

[slim]

UK is not europe

[intrasight]

Those who thought that a duress pin was a good idea for border crossing are probably going to choose this alternative.

It doesn't have to be blank - just clean.

[krunck]

Unless you are an activist who is being targeted by a government. A "clean" OS can still have incriminating "evidence" planted on it.

[thenthenthen]

Pff one time when travelling to the US I brought two laptops, macbook and a thinkpad. I just reinstalled the thinkpad and somehow the border patrol was very interested in it. Asked me to ‘show my gallery’… it was a guiless setup and only had a terminal, problem was… somehow my keyboard layout or something was messed up and i could not even login… i spend around 2 hours being questioned by 6 people…they didnt even take a look at the macbook

[wesleywt]

What is sus as hell is the US government. It is incredible how people here are accepting things that was outrageous a few years back.

[tremon]

They've been boiling that frog for 25 years now. Its flesh has long detached from the bones, it's the bones themselves that are now dissolving.

[feoren]

> people here are accepting things

Question: what does not accepting these things look like? Because voting, protesting, donating, and lawsuits haven't gotten anywhere. What are you suggesting we actually do?

[hinata08]

The french cybersecurity agency (ANSSI) used to share leaflets to tell you to do just that. The US government wasn't named, but it's part of the ones that like to do some economic intelligence and no euro who read the news would trust it more than a banana republic when it comes to crossing the border.

Now having a corporate device with little data is no longer outstanding. Everything is in the cloud these days.

As for personal devices, you can explain you're taking a dumb cheap laptop for your holiday as you're working on a desktop PC at home. You're not taking your entire house when you're on a trip, just a laptop to check tourism information and post blog posts

I myself bought a crap laptop on ebay to shove it in bags and backpacks and go to conferences and not be sad the day it's broken.

but above all, he's a citizen so shouldn't care about looking "suspect". He has a right, not a privilege, to cross that border. They can explain a judge how he looked sus if they really want to search his home.

[thrance]

> You’re just carrying a blank phone that you intend to set up and use later, and they can’t force you to install your backup onto a phone.

They can just make this illegal too, and ask for the keys to your backup, or detain you until you do. Point is, you can't gain freedom through technology. It was always a political thing.

[Cider9986]

You can hide a backup very well. Make a Proton account for drive over Tor and memorize the credentials.

You can gain freedom though technology but if someone wants to torture you or a regime wants to put you in prison they can always do that.

You could also gain freedom by being anonymous preventing getting caught, though technology.