A burner phone might be one way to avoid having your personal data scrutinized when crossing U.S. borders, even if you're not hiding anything.

Travelers are facing higher scrutiny when attempting to enter the country as U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents follow directives to bolster national security. Any traveler – whether a citizen or visitor – can be subject to an inspection, meant to verify their identity and assess any risk of crime or contraband, according to the agency.

During these inspections, agents are legally allowed to search information stored directly on anyone's electronic devices, including photos and deleted folders, without a warrant. CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham previously told USA TODAY, the agency "follows strict policies and directives when it comes to searching electronic media."

However, foreign travelers or those applying for a visa could undergo more intensive screening of their digital footprint, such as the proposed new measures by the Department of Homeland Security that would include a five-year review of someone's social media history.

Some travelers, even U.S. citizens, are worried that the content on their phones could get them in trouble. To limit what can be looked at during border searches, they may be considering packing a burner phone with them instead of their regular one.

"It may be helpful for travelers to know when they weigh the decision of what device to bring with them when traveling into the United States that searches of electronic personal devices are not new, the policy and procedures for searches have not changed, and that the likelihood of a search has not increased and remains exceedingly rare," CBP told USA TODAY in a Dec. 15th statement.

Under this idea, travelers would leave their primary phone at home and bring a secondary phone with minimal personal information stored on it instead. This device would be exclusively "a travel phone, and has very limited functionality," said Esha Bhandari, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. She added, "We've heard anecdotally that some travelers may be wanting to do that more."

Here's what people should know about traveling with a burner phone:

Is it illegal to travel with a burner phone?

No, it's not illegal to use a travel phone, even if it seems suspicious to have a nearly empty phone. "At the outset, there's no legal barrier to traveling with certain digital information," Bhandari said. Basically, this means your phone doesn't have to contain all your information to enter the country.

One of the government's legal defenses asserting these searches aren't an invasion of privacy is that travelers can control what they have on their devices, according to Bhandari. Some courts have had sidebar discussions that it's akin to having the contents of your luggage searched. "So the government itself acknowledges that if travelers can control what they bring, then that must mean that you can travel without a device that has your everyday things on it, right?" she said. Legal organizations like the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation have argued that our devices store much more information than that, making these searches more intrusive.

Should I travel with a burner phone?

Each traveler needs to make their own risk assessment to determine whether it's beneficial to travel with a secondary device, according to Bhandari. Some people who carry sensitive work or personal information on their phone may find it worthwhile, while others who already have a separate work phone can leave one at home, she continued. "For other travelers, having a separate device may not be feasible, but they can still choose what data to physically retain on their device before they travel."

Keep in mind that your rights at the border can vary depending on your immigration status, so the outcome could vary. So while U.S. citizens and legal residents must still be allowed into the country, visitors and non-visa holders could be turned away. "No traveler is obligated to have all their personal information on them," Bhandari said. "But I think, unfortunately, in the current environment, travelers do have to be aware of that risk."

Despite your immigration status, if you refuse to have your phone searched, agents have the authority to confiscate it for weeks or even months.

Other tips for privacy at US borders

If you're still on the fence about traveling with a burner phone, here's what Bhandari recommends during border searches:

◾Turn off biometrics. Although a legal gray area, it's possible the agent could use the fingerprint or face ID function to unlock your phone. The best protection will come from a strong password to reduce access.

◾Log out of your accounts. To reduce access as much as possible, log out of any applications such as Instagram or your email.

◾Limit what you have stored on your device and save everything else to the Cloud. "Even if you are subject to a search and officers are looking through your device, per their own policies, they are supposed to put the phone or the laptop in airplane mode," Bhandari said.

◾Disconnect from service and put your phone in airplane mode. Even though agents are supposed to only search the device offline, it's possible "an officer might forget, it might get overlooked," Bhandari said. "If you already have your device in airplane mode, they're not going to be able to act with anything that's not on the device."

This story originally published on July 14, 2025.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should you travel with a burner phone? What to know at US borders.