US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during airport search

Post by eru » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

majke wrote: post #519

jpfromlondon wrote: post #516

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't carry a smartphone, is this likely to be a red flag if I'm stopped?

Many countries now assume you have a phone. For example getting UK visa requires a smartphone. I don't think going without a phone is feasible nowadays. Another question is if going with a burner phone that has just sim card and bank card, sufficient. But then you need appleid/google account on the device, and this again links back to your phone number, and it's not easy in practice to have proper clean device.

Post by saalweachter » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 10:31 AM UTC

antihero wrote: post #558

schoen wrote: post #383

I co-wrote a border search guide for EFF some years ago. I was very interested in finding clever technical approaches but I later ended up feeling that I hadn't given enough thought to the overall threat model questions (even though the guide did address them, perhaps even somewhat usefully). The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially se…

I wonder if the smarter thing to do would be to quietly nuke it as soon as it becomes clear that you'll be detained, so they can't really know that it wasn't already blank (IE you aren't nuking it in their presence).

Post by eru » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 10:31 AM UTC

jbstack wrote: post #430

Sammi wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or that just selectively wipes only stuff you have marked for deletion. That way the profile stays up to date and believable.

That's a more risky strategy. What if you added new files since the last time you updated the deletion profile? It's also technically more challenging. You have to think about what might be in RAM, caches, backups, etc. The good thing about a total wipe is that it's very easy to implement, and it's hard for it to go wrong. You just encrypt the whole drive and, when you want to wipe it, erase the key.

Post by Steve16384 » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 10:33 AM UTC

matwood wrote: post #437

schoen wrote: post #383

I co-wrote a border search guide for EFF some years ago. I was very interested in finding clever technical approaches but I later ended up feeling that I hadn't given enough thought to the overall threat model questions (even though the guide did address them, perhaps even somewhat usefully). The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially se…

> I think they should not have this power, but the agents and courts probably don't care that I think that. ... > and about not angering the agents more than you plan to When I was a teenager (long ago at this point), I got into an argument with a police officer over surfing in a certain area. It was pouring down rain, so he was annoyed he had to sit outside and wait for my friends and me to come to shore. Once we go…

Post by TheOtherHobbes » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 10:36 AM UTC

jonathanstrange wrote: post #452

schoen wrote: post #383

I co-wrote a border search guide for EFF some years ago. I was very interested in finding clever technical approaches but I later ended up feeling that I hadn't given enough thought to the overall threat model questions (even though the guide did address them, perhaps even somewhat usefully). The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially se…

Just don't travel to the US.