What should I do to prepare before going to the US?
Take steps to protect your devices, or find alternatives.If you’re travelling for work, consider taking a laptop that has no confidential information, is shut down on entry and is not automatically connected to any cloud services or email accounts that may store confidential information. For mobile phones, if you have the means, consider setting up a second device (sometimes referred to as a burner phone) to travel with. Make sure your second device is stripped of confidential information and contains only the basics needed on your trip. Consider setting up a second mobile number/sim card for the second device. But if you do, make sure any apps or services that you use which are reliant on two-factor SMS authentication (rather than dedicated 2FA apps such as Authenticator) are set to verify you through your new number.
What should be on my devices before entering the US?
Travel with as little information as possible, the ACLU recommends. They advise people to use strong and unique passwords, and to shut all your devices down before crossing the border. If possible, consider setting up new email accounts, use password managers and log out of apps such as social media. Owners of iPhones should consider enabling
Lockdown Mode, which adds further protection against someone trying to access your device without the passcode.
If you need to travel with access to your existing email accounts, turn off cloud syncing services and clear downloaded emails.
If you have privileged information on your device, the ACLU advises that you should alert border officers to this fact before they begin a search.
Once in the US, if you have a password manager and access to your existing accounts, you can log back into your email and other services you may need to use.
