Digital Cleanliness: Your New Travel Essential

Digital Hygiene Before Travel: Avoiding Border Hassles

Traveling no longer just involves carefully preparing our luggage and passport. At airports worldwide, security checks increasingly include inspections not only into our hand luggage but also into our phones, tablets, or laptops. This is especially true in busy and technologically advanced countries like the USA, where the digitization of border checks has become routine practice.

Data, apps, and settings stored on digital devices can pose as significant a security risk to authorities as a suspicious item found in a handbag. This is why the concept of digital hygiene has come to the forefront: performing a digital clean-up before crossing a border can be as crucial as a visa or vaccination certificate.

A digital device is no longer just a personal item

Today's travelers carry at least one smartphone, which stores a vast amount of personal information, applications, and data. Authorities are now looking not only at what you physically carry but also at what's on your phone. Based on the content of a smartphone, some travelers may be subjected to especially stringent checks—even if they have done nothing illegal.

For instance, a retired teacher found herself in an embarrassing situation when her grandchild installed a password-protected digital safe app on her phone. This made customs officers suspicious, and since the woman couldn't remember the password, her device was examined for hours. She eventually missed her flight.

What apps might raise suspicion?

According to experts in the USA, several categories of apps regularly come under scrutiny during checks:

Hidden file storing or masquerading apps: Programs that hide images or documents, for example, under the guise of a calculator, are often linked to criminal activities and thus automatically raise suspicion.

VPNs and Tor browsers: While these tools serve to protect digital privacy, their use can suggest unlawful intent and may be illegal in some countries.

Remote desktop or screen-sharing applications: Often used by scammers, these can be deemed suspicious, especially when used by older travelers.

Cannabis-related applications: Apps promoting CBD or medical marijuana (such as Weedmaps or Leafly) can present issues, even if the substance is legal in some areas.

Outdated, unofficial airport or airline applications: These can crash or display misleading information, raising security concerns.

What can you do before traveling?

Digital hygiene isn't complicated but requires awareness. A few simple steps can help avoid unnecessary stress:

Remove suspicious, unnecessary, or privacy-impacting apps from your device, or shift everything to another, non-travel device.

Use only official airport and airline apps.

Clear out your gallery and disable automatic media storage in messaging apps.

Temporarily disable biometric access (fingerprint, face recognition) and use password protection instead.

Don't publicly share travel plans on social media platforms.

If traveling to a particularly sensitive destination, consider using a "clean" phone containing only essential apps.

Why should you care?

Travelers' rights at borders are much more restricted than many assume. In some countries, border officials may request device unlocking and access to its content—refusal may result in being turned away or detained for an extended period. Digital devices are thus not private matters but a security aspect that can determine the outcome of your travel.

This is especially true for older travelers, who often fall victim to digital misuses or are simply unaware of what applications are installed on their devices. For them, digital hygiene not only ensures smoother travel but protects them from unwarranted stress and misunderstandings.

Summary: 'Digital Cleanliness' is the New Passport

In today's world, it's not enough for your flight ticket and passport to be in order. What matters is also what's on the phone in your pocket. Digital hygiene is not about fearmongering but about conscious preparation—especially if the USA or another technologically advanced country is the destination.

The best advice from a security expert: be a "boring tourist." Keep only necessary apps, leave no digital footprints, and ensure you won't be the one waiting for hours at the border. This conscious approach might be the key to a calm, smooth, and safe journey.

(Source of the article is based on the acquisition of the new USA ESTA.)