What
In this post, we'll go over how to protect your digital privacy as you cross customs. While the risks we face when going through customs are different in each country, the recommendations below apply to any country you may be visiting. In this post, you will learn:
- How to minimize the amount of data you carry with you
- How to best protect the data you carry with you, whether on a laptop or a phone
Why
When we go through customs, whether at an airport or a border crossing, we are particularly vulnerable to the excess power border agents yield. They can decide to let us through or force us to go back where we came from; they can fine us for some of the goods we bring into the country; and they can detain us for hours, sometimes longer. Because of the grey legal area that border crossings fall in, we often have little recourse than comply.
One of the most common things agents do when they detain or interrogate us at customs is try to access our digital data. This can happen in several ways:
