This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.
A woman walks past a charging Bull sculpture outside Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A man stands near an electronic board displaying stock prices at the Indonesia Stock Exchange, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
An aerial view of Xiasha Container Terminal on a canal in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Chinatopix Via AP)
Containers ship Hornise sails across the Bosphorus strait, on his way from China's Jingtang port to Russia's Novorossiysk port, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Trucks drive beside stacks of containers at the Manila International Container Terminal at the Philippine capital on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People walk outside an Apple Store at an outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Huge cranes loading containers on to ships at a port in Chennai, India, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)
People pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the Korea Exchange in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Export vehicles are parked at Daikoku Pier in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Women are silhouetted, as they walk past a Nike signage on display outside the Nike store inside a shopping mall, in Beijing, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Men walk past monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People walk past an electronic board displaying Shanghai shares trading index at a brokerage house, in Beijing, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Tugboats assist a container ship as it prepares to dock at the Manila International Container Terminal at the Philippine capital on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Export vehicles are parked at Daikoku Pier in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
President Donald Trump is seen on the television as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A truck maneuvers beside stacks of containers at the Manila International Container Terminal at the Philippine capital on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People work in a wooden items workshop at Eminonu commercial district, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People buy pieces of gold in a gold business shop at the Grand Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man pulls a cart with goods at Eminonu commercial district, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
A container ship approaches the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Containers and ships are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers and ships are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers and ships are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Motorist ride past a luggage brand showroom in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A goldsmith melts gold in a jewelry shop in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A)
People shop at a jewelry showroom in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A woman waits for customers in her readymade garment shop in Mumbai, India, Monday, April. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A Wall St. sign is displayed near the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A Wall St. sign is displayed near the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jonathan Mueller works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jonathan Mueller works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
James Lamb works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A man with a MAGA hat stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
An electronic display shows financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
An electronic display shows financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A cargo ship approaches a port near Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses journalists during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Norway's Finance Minister Jens Stolteberg answers questions related to the stock market in Oslo, Norway, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Cornelius Poppe/NTB Scanpix via AP)
While a trader on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange watches his monitors, the display board with the Dax curve can be seen in the background Monday, April 7, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)
Containers are piled up in the container harbor in Duisburg, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
Containers are piled up in the container harbor in Duisburg, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
An Emirati walks out of the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
A red light of a TV camera is seen in front of the display board with the DAX stock index in the trading hall of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Aril 7, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)
Shipping containers are stacked at Port Botany in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Shipping containers are stacked at Port Botany in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Pedestrians and office buildings are reflected on a brokerage house's window as an electronic board displays shares trading index, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A woman walks by an electronic board displaying shares trading index at a brokerage house, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
An investor takes a picture with a cell phone of indexes and benchmark 100 index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A dejected investor waits to restart trading, suspended for an hour following a 5% drop in in its main index, at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A man watches a live screen outside Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
An Emirati man is seen in the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
Emiratis are seen in the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
Emiratis are seen in the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
Employees in the trading room of Nordea Markets follow the stock market in Oslo, Norway, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP)
A truck with a container leaves a logistic-terminal in Leipzig, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Trucks with containers drive through a logistic-terminal in Leipzig, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
An investor looks on indexes and benchmark 100 index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Pedestrian are reflected on a brokerage house's window as an electronic board displays shares trading index, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Employees of the Athens Stock Exchange stand under screens showing falling stocks in red, in Athens, Greece, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
People watch a live screen on the facade of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A price loss is shown on the display board showing the German DAX stock index in the trading hall of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)
Click to Gallery
A woman walks past a charging Bull sculpture outside Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A man stands near an electronic board displaying stock prices at the Indonesia Stock Exchange, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
An aerial view of Xiasha Container Terminal on a canal in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Chinatopix Via AP)
Containers ship Hornise sails across the Bosphorus strait, on his way from China's Jingtang port to Russia's Novorossiysk port, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Trucks drive beside stacks of containers at the Manila International Container Terminal at the Philippine capital on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People walk outside an Apple Store at an outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Huge cranes loading containers on to ships at a port in Chennai, India, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)
People pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the Korea Exchange in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Export vehicles are parked at Daikoku Pier in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Women are silhouetted, as they walk past a Nike signage on display outside the Nike store inside a shopping mall, in Beijing, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Men walk past monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People walk past an electronic board displaying Shanghai shares trading index at a brokerage house, in Beijing, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Tugboats assist a container ship as it prepares to dock at the Manila International Container Terminal at the Philippine capital on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Export vehicles are parked at Daikoku Pier in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
President Donald Trump is seen on the television as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A truck maneuvers beside stacks of containers at the Manila International Container Terminal at the Philippine capital on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People work in a wooden items workshop at Eminonu commercial district, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People buy pieces of gold in a gold business shop at the Grand Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man pulls a cart with goods at Eminonu commercial district, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
The container terminal at the Commercial Sea Port in the Pacific city of Vladivostok, east of Moscow, Russia, is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
A container ship approaches the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Containers and ships are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers and ships are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers and ships are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Containers are seen in this aerial photo of The Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Motorist ride past a luggage brand showroom in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A goldsmith melts gold in a jewelry shop in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A)
People shop at a jewelry showroom in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A woman waits for customers in her readymade garment shop in Mumbai, India, Monday, April. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A Wall St. sign is displayed near the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A Wall St. sign is displayed near the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jonathan Mueller works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jonathan Mueller works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
James Lamb works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A man with a MAGA hat stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
An electronic display shows financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
An electronic display shows financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A cargo ship approaches a port near Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses journalists during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Norway's Finance Minister Jens Stolteberg answers questions related to the stock market in Oslo, Norway, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Cornelius Poppe/NTB Scanpix via AP)
While a trader on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange watches his monitors, the display board with the Dax curve can be seen in the background Monday, April 7, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)
Containers are piled up in the container harbor in Duisburg, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
Containers are piled up in the container harbor in Duisburg, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
An Emirati walks out of the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
A red light of a TV camera is seen in front of the display board with the DAX stock index in the trading hall of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Aril 7, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)
Shipping containers are stacked at Port Botany in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Shipping containers are stacked at Port Botany in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Pedestrians and office buildings are reflected on a brokerage house's window as an electronic board displays shares trading index, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A woman walks by an electronic board displaying shares trading index at a brokerage house, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
An investor takes a picture with a cell phone of indexes and benchmark 100 index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A dejected investor waits to restart trading, suspended for an hour following a 5% drop in in its main index, at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A man watches a live screen outside Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
An Emirati man is seen in the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
Emiratis are seen in the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
Emiratis are seen in the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photos/Fatima Shbair)
Employees in the trading room of Nordea Markets follow the stock market in Oslo, Norway, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP)
A truck with a container leaves a logistic-terminal in Leipzig, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Trucks with containers drive through a logistic-terminal in Leipzig, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
An investor looks on indexes and benchmark 100 index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Pedestrian are reflected on a brokerage house's window as an electronic board displays shares trading index, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Employees of the Athens Stock Exchange stand under screens showing falling stocks in red, in Athens, Greece, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
People watch a live screen on the facade of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A price loss is shown on the display board showing the German DAX stock index in the trading hall of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)
LONDON (AP) — Planning an international trip? Travelers should prepare for the possibility of extra scrutiny of their phones when crossing borders, especially when entering the United States.
The Canadian government warned travelers in a recent travel advisory that U.S. border agents are entitled to search your electronic devices and “don’t need to provide a reason when requesting a password to open your device.”
Some recent cases have made travelers nervous about their privacy, such as when a Brown University professor with a U.S. visa was deported to Lebanon after border agents found a photo of Hezbollah’s leader on her phone.
“While 100% privacy may be impossible in these situations, there are a few things you can easily do that make it much harder for someone to see your private data even with physical access to your device,” said Patricia Egger, head of security at encrypted service Proton Mail.
Here are tips on protecting your device privacy while travelling:
Experts say the best strategy is to reduce the amount of information you’re carrying while traveling.
If possible, leave your phone at home. If you need one on your trip, borrow a tactic used by corporate executives looking to avoid hackers: get a temporary or “burner” device. It can contain just the information you need for your trip. Download anything else from the cloud when you need it.
If you have to bring your phone or laptop, upload sensitive information to a cloud storage service that uses end-to-end encryption, then delete the originals from your device.
Also, encrypt your phone or laptop’s storage drive and protect it with a strong password. Be aware this is different from merely having a device passcode lock, which is more easily cracked, or the end-to-end encryption on your favorite communication platforms.
Turn off fingerprint or facial recognition features and use the PIN or passcode instead.
There are two kinds of searches, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.
In a basic search, an officer scrolls through your phone’s photos, emails, apps and files. No suspicion of wrongdoing is needed to conduct this type of search.
In an advanced search, the contents of your device could be copied for analysis. But a senior manager needs to sign off and there needs to be “reasonable suspicion” of a legal violation, except if there’s any concern for national security, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
“It’s hard to say,” says Sophia Cope, senior staff attorney at the EFF, which offers an extensive online guide to border privacy. Warrants are not needed to inspect devices belonging to anyone entering the country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents carried out a total of more than 47,000 electronic device searches last year, up tenfold from a decade ago.
Basic searches “can be for no reason at all, totally random, or based on a mere hunch about someone – maybe based on how they look or an answer they gave to a preliminary question,” said Cope.
Travel history can also be relevant, for example, if a traveler originates from someplace where terrorism, drug trafficking, or child sex tourism is common, she said. Border agents can also search devices “at the behest” of other agencies like the FBI or if they’re associated with someone else of interest, such as a journalist’s source, a business associate or a family member.
Best to power off your devices when you touch down.
Under current policy, U.S. border agents are only allowed to look at information stored on the device, and not anything that’s kept in the cloud. So if you have to leave your phone on, make sure it’s kept in airplane mode or otherwise disconnected from the internet by Wi-Fi or cellular data.
“Before crossing the border, put your device in airplane mode to ensure remote files don’t get downloaded accidentally,” the Canadian government warns.
But keep in mind there might be cached data that still remains on your phone, such as files in the trash that haven’t been emptied.
American citizens can’t be denied entry to the United States for refusing to consent to device searches. The same should apply to lawful permanent residents such as green card holders, the American Civil Liberties Union says.
But agents can make things difficult if they’re refused. Travelers could be questioned, detained temporarily or have their devices seized and not returned for days or even weeks, rights groups say.
Foreign travelers could be turned back if they say no.
If you’re forced to unlock your device, Egger advises that “where you can, log in yourself rather than divulging any PINs or passwords, and if forced to share passwords, change them as soon as you can.”
Experts say the reason you should not use your device’s fingerprint or facial recognition feature is that it’s easier to compel you to unlock your device with biometrics. A border agent could simply hold your phone up to your face or force you to press your finger onto your device. There are also fears that police could use fingerprints stored on government databases.
Powering off your devices is another way to protect against sophisticated attacks in case you don’t consent to a search.
Most modern phones and some laptops encrypt their data using a strong cryptographic keys only accessible when the user unlocks it with the passcode, said Will Greenberg, the EFF’s senior staff technologist.
If the device is locked but not turned off, the key remains loaded on the device’s memory. Powerful hacking tools made by companies like Cellebrite can recover the key and decipher the data.
But if the device is off, the key is unloaded and can’t be accessed until it’s turned on again and unlocked with the passcode.
“This is why a border agent can’t simply turn a device on to use a tool like Cellebrite,” Greenberg said.
To be on the safe side, delete your social media apps and reinstall them later. Even though content is mainly stored on a social media company’s servers, Cope says some posts or images might remain on your phone’s memory cache and therefore viewable even in airplane mode.
It’s not just phones and laptops. Digital cameras, smartwatches, tablets, external hard drives and other electronic devices can be searched.
Some tactics might backfire. If you’re tempted to completely wipe your phone or laptop hard drive before you travel, experts warn it could raise scrutiny.
“If detected by a border agent, the fact that you wiped your hard drive may prompt the agent to ask why you did so,” the EFF’s guide says. “Even traveling without devices or data that most travelers typically have could attract suspicion and questions.”
Also don’t try to hide information on your device, because border agents could find out, the group says. “Lying to border agents can be a serious crime, and the agents may take a very broad view of what constitutes lying,” it says.
Check local laws of your destination before you travel. For example, Britain’s counterterrorism law allows police to demand that people passing through the country’s border hand over devices along with passwords and PINs. If they refuse, they can be charged with terrorism.
Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.
FILE - Vehicles wait in line to cross the border into the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)