How to handle a phone search at US border

Customs agents have broad authority to search the electronic devices of travellers entering and leaving the US, but there are ways to keep your data safe, writes Gabe Castro-Root from New York

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hen US border agents turned away a French scientist in March after searching his phone, the French authorities cried foul, blaming messages commenting on President Donald Trump's policies for the decision. US officials denied that politics had played a role, but the incident left some travellers with an urgent question: Are such searches even legal?

The short answer is yes. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have broad authority to look through travellers’ phones, laptops and other electronic devices under an exception to the Fourth Amendment's protections against warrantless searches.

CBP conducted 55,318 searches of electronic devices at ports of entry in fiscal year 2025, according to the agency. That's up from the previous two years, though the number represents only about 0.01% of the nearly 420 million travellers who entered or exited the country by air, land and sea in fiscal year 2025, according to the agency.

“These searches are conducted to detect digital contraband, terrorism-related content and information relevant to visitor admissibility, all of which play a critical role in national security,’ Jessica Turner, a CBP spokeswoman, said in a statement.

That may be true, but an increasing number of travellers report being questioned about legally protected online speech when crossing the border.

Several factors, including citizenship status and where you enter the country, determine your rights to digital privacy at immigration checkpoints.

Non-citizens owned a majority of devices searched by CBP in the last three years, though the share of devices searched that belonged to US citizens rose to about 25% from 21% over that period.

Here's a look at what CBP agents can and can’t do with your devices, and the steps you can take to safeguard your private data.