The Digital Security Digest, by Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), is a weekly newsletter with security tips that keep you, your sources, and your devices safe. If someone shared this newsletter with you, please subscribe here.

The number of device searches at the U.S. border is growing

Each year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection searches tens of thousands of phones and computers. According to data obtained by CBC News, during the first three fiscal quarters in 2026, CBP increased the number of electronic device searches by 32% compared with the previous year. The agency is reportedly on track for a record-setting year for device searches, and has already searched nearly as many devices in 2026 as it searched throughout the entirety of the 2025 fiscal year.

According to CBC News, 47,517 of those device searches were “basic searches,” in which an officer may take a look through a device. A subset of 4,564 devices were also exposed to an “advanced search,” in which an officer may make a forensic copy of a targeted device. “The customs agency won’t reveal what percentage of the searches took place at the northern border with Canada or the southern border with Mexico,” CBC News reports.

What you can do

Our digital security training team has been receiving more requests than ever from journalists looking for support with securing devices when crossing the border.

It’s important to understand that border searches affect a very small percentage of international travelers, but they are disproportionately travelers who are not U.S. citizens. Depending on your risk level, this may still be unacceptable. Fortunately, you have some choices about how you can prepare.

First, your risk assessment involves citizenship status. Americans at a U.S. port of entry cannot be barred from entering the country. Nonetheless, border officials can make your travels much more difficult. On top of slowing you down from getting to your destination, they may search your electronic devices, and they may even seize them for a number of days or weeks. Non-U.S. citizens can be barred from entering the country entirely.

Prepare your device for a search. You have some choices about what you bring in the first place. Makers of forensic devices require research on exploits that can take months to develop, so simply keeping your device up to date will make it significantly harder for someone to make a forensic copy of your device. We also recommend using a long, unique passcode and powering down your device when going through border security. This will encrypt your device, which significantly reduces what kind of data forensic devices can extract. Disk encryption is enabled by default on modern mobile phones. You’ll want to double-check that this is also enabled on your computer. (Mac users, look in your settings for “FileVault;” Windows users, look for “BitLocker.”) You will be the one to make the choice about whether to type in your password and decrypt the device. Learn more in our guide to mobile maintenance.

Remove your “crown jewels.” If you do choose to unlock a device, think about what data is on there that would be unacceptable for someone else to see. Consider deleting your most sensitive data in advance and adding it back later. Note that if you delete a file, there may be an extra copy of the file lying around (e.g., in your trash bin). In many default photo and file apps, and on your desktop environment, you will typically need to delete the file a second time.

Read our guide. There’s so much more you can do. In collaboration with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, we wrote a checklist to help you get started.

Updates from our team

We don’t yet know what will happen during this election cycle, but journalists covering possible protests face elevated risk. In collaboration with Geoffrey King of Open Vallejo, we put together a guide to help you prepare your digital devices beforehand. Be sure to also check out our other resources for protecting yourself in the field.

Our team is always ready to assist journalists with digital security concerns. Reach out here, and stay safe and secure out there.

Best,

Martin Shelton
Deputy Director of Digital Security
Freedom of the Press Foundation