Interesting.. "The guidance says border agents cannot use the
device to access information stored remotely, such as on "the
cloud," and will ask travellers to turn off their device's
connectivity or do so themselves to avoid accessing that data."

"However, agents can search people's email, text and WhatsApp
messages, and any other content that's accessible on a device."

"Travellers are "obligated" to present their electronic devices
and the information stored on it "in a condition that allows
for the examination of the device and its contents," the CBP
says, including providing necessary passwords."

Wrt to Telegram, Session, et al.. I suppose the user could
uninstall the apps prior to inpection of a device, and then
reinstall them after clearance from border security.


https://globalnews.ca/news/11344109/us-border-phone-searches-
data/amp/
--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

Interesting.. "The guidance says border agents cannot use the

>device to access information stored remotely, such as on "the
>cloud," and will ask travellers to turn off their device's
>connectivity or do so themselves to avoid accessing that data."

"However, agents can search people's email, text and WhatsApp

>messages, and any other content that's accessible on a device."

I wonder if that may be because messages and such are considered
somewhat Public where a Cloud Storage site can be totally private?

"Travellers are "obligated" to present their electronic devices

>and the information stored on it "in a condition that allows
>for the examination of the device and its contents," the CBP
>says, including providing necessary passwords."

I can add this to all the reasons why I don't travel outside
Canada anymore, although I only went to the USA quite often
in earlier years and never made it to any other countries.
I can't think of many I'd like to visit, although that may be
more due to having to cope with the crowds of people you fight
getting there than not wanting to visit another country..

Wrt to Telegram, Session, et al.. I suppose the user could

>uninstall the apps prior to inspection of a device, and then
>reinstall them after clearance from border security.

From their Cloud account.. B)

---
* SLMR Rob * Honk if you love peace and quiet
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

"Travellers are "obligated" to present their electronic devices

>and the information stored on it "in a condition that allows
>for the examination of the device and its contents," the CBP
>says, including providing necessary passwords."

That has made me not want to travel into Canada during "current times,"
even though I am sure it was our government that started that mess. ;( I could get a burner phone (since my carrier isn't guaranteed to work in Canada that'd make sense anyway), but I also usually carry a laptop with me so I
can offload any digital photos I take. I take a lot and the parts of
Canada I have been in are beautiful so I guess I would need lots of extra
cards to feed into the cameras.

Unfortunately, one of them takes a card type that is now obsolete! :O

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * "!Beavis! ?Donde esta su hall pass?"
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hello Mike!

** On Sunday 24.08.25 - 10:11, you wrote to me:

That has made me not want to travel into Canada during
"current times," even though I am sure it was our
government that started that mess. ;( I could get a
burner phone (since my carrier isn't guaranteed to work in
Canada that'd make sense anyway), but I also usually carry
a laptop with me so I can offload any digital photos I
take. I take a lot and the parts of Canada I have been in
are beautiful so I guess I would need lots of extra cards
to feed into the cameras.

Yes.. apparently anyone returning to the States [even a US
citizen] is subject to CBP inspections.

Offloading phone images to the laptop won't help - your CBP
would be inspecting laptops too.

You could enter Canada without issue, but coming back you would
need to offload your images to the cloud or something [like,
mail them back to yourself?] ... unless, standalone SD/media
cards are exempt from searches at your boarder? / which I
doubt.

Unfortunately, one of them takes a card type that is now obsolete! :O

I suppose if your pics are innoccuous things, then you have
nothing to be concerned about. However, the searches through
media devices does seem like overreach.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

Hello Rob!

** On Sunday 24.08.25 - 09:11, you wrote to me:

Interesting.. "The guidance says border agents cannot use the

device to access information stored remotely, such as on "the
cloud," ...

"However, agents can search people's email, text and WhatsApp

messages, and any other content that's accessible on a device."

I wonder if that may be because messages and such are considered
somewhat Public where a Cloud Storage site can be totally private?

Seems to me it should/could be the other way around. Perhaps
they consider it's overreach to insist they have the user's
phone sucking data if you don't want it to? However, I suppose
searching the phone's own local contents is akin to searching a
bag of luggage that is *with* the person.

I think asking to access the Cloud Storage would be akin to
asking to access another device, but in this case it's a
virtual one and not one in the control of the user, and
therefore exempt?

But what is interesting though.. would be if you claim to
forget the password, what's the worst that can happen? Some
apps offer "Forgot password?" options.. but that requires a
connection to the web which their rules say they cannot force
you to do.

"Travellers are "obligated" to present their electronic devices

...including providing necessary passwords."

I can add this to all the reasons why I don't travel outside
Canada anymore, although I only went to the USA quite often
in earlier years and never made it to any other countries.
I can't think of many I'd like to visit, although that may be
more due to having to cope with the crowds of people you fight
getting there than not wanting to visit another country..

Me too. Not interested to travel to the USA anymore. I've
been to Florida a few times as part of my pastlife work, and
once to Pennsylvania, and once to Boston.

Wouldn't mind travelling to my parent's home country in Europe,
but I'm not interested to go through the hassle of getting a
passport.

We have quite a vast country to explore. No passport required.

Wrt to Telegram, Session, et al.. I suppose the user could

uninstall the apps prior to inspection of a device, and then
reinstall them after clearance from border security.

From their Cloud account.. B)

Yes.. Tg and Session resync from the cloud when reinstalled and
verified on a device, so.. their evironments can be
reconstituted when you are nolonger at the border.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

That has made me not want to travel into Canada during
"current times," even though I am sure it was our
government that started that mess. ;( I could get a
burner phone (since my carrier isn't guaranteed to work in
Canada that'd make sense anyway), but I also usually carry
a laptop with me so I can offload any digital photos I
take. I take a lot and the parts of Canada I have been in
are beautiful so I guess I would need lots of extra cards
to feed into the cameras.

Yes.. apparently anyone returning to the States [even a US
citizen] is subject to CBP inspections.

So it is returning to the US from Canada, but not entering Canada, that
could trigger these searches? I knew about crossing into the USA being an issue but I may have misread your post and thought that Canadian
authorities were also now doing similar searches of incoming tourists.

Offloading phone images to the laptop won't help - your CBP
would be inspecting laptops too.

That wasn't why I'd be offloading them. I would be offloading them to free
up camera space for the next day of shooting. ;) Inspections would make
me less likely to carry any extra equipment (like a laptop) for this
purpose.

Unfortunately, one of them takes a card type that is now obsolete! :O

I suppose if your pics are innoccuous things, then you have
nothing to be concerned about. However, the searches through
media devices does seem like overreach.

For me, they are usually going to be lighthouses, museums (esp. trains),
and waterfalls. It does seem like overreach. If what we are hearing is
true, they are looking for unflattering memes of Trump and Vance. ;)

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * Spelling is a sober man's game
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

"However, agents can search people's email, text and WhatsApp

messages, and any other content that's accessible on a device."

I wonder if that may be because messages and such are considered
somewhat Public where a Cloud Storage site can be totally private?

Seems to me it should/could be the other way around. Perhaps

>they consider it's overreach to insist they have the user's
>phone sucking data if you don't want it to? However, I suppose
>searching the phone's own local contents is akin to searching a
>bag of luggage that is *with* the person.

It would be pretty hard to prove someone has a cloud account as well,
or know where they keep things. I have 5 Cloud accounts at the moment,
but only one I actually set up and use myself, the others were supplied
by Microsoft or Google or eMail systems automatically when you start
as a user there.

I can add this to all the reasons why I don't travel outside
Canada anymore, although I only went to the USA quite often
in earlier years

Me too. Not interested to travel to the USA anymore. I've

>been to Florida a few times as part of my pastlife work, and
>once to Pennsylvania, and once to Boston.

Yes, I spent whole winters in Florida a couple of years, and summer
motorcycle trips for a few weeks, plus I was working with a motorcycle
racing group and often went South on weekends with them for racing.

I virtually always drove down so I had a chance to visit quite
a number of different states to see the differences.

Funny, the main hassle you got crossing the border back then was
whether you had enough money or not because they didn't want you
heading down there and stealing jobs from the Mexicans... B)

One year I was asked about finances when I said I was going down
for several weeks, so I showed them that I had access to many
thousands of dollars should I need it, and then that almost got
me denied access for having too much money available which could
be used for doing any number of illegal things I suppose..

Wouldn't mind travelling to my parent's home country in Europe,

>but I'm not interested to go through the hassle of getting a
>passport.

We have quite a vast country to explore. No passport required.

Yes, I've never owned a passport in my life..

---
* SLMR Rob * Bills move through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hello Rob!

** On Tuesday 26.08.25 - 08:46, you wrote to me:

One year I was asked about finances when I said I was
going down for several weeks, so I showed them that I had
access to many thousands of dollars should I need it, and
then that almost got me denied access for having too much
money available which could be used for doing any number
of illegal things I suppose..

Maybe that was limited to a Canada->USA thing? But from
USA->CANADA, you can carry up to $10,000 cash - as long as you
declare it - and you can enter.

I'm surprised that the USA guards had an issue with you
accessing "too much money" online!

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

One year I was asked about finances when I said I was
going down for several weeks, so I showed them that I had
access to many thousands of dollars should I need it, and
then that almost got me denied access for having too much
money available which could be used for doing any number
of illegal things I suppose..

Maybe that was limited to a Canada->USA thing? But from

>USA->CANADA, you can carry up to $10,000 cash - as long as you
>declare it - and you can enter.

I'm surprised that the USA guards had an issue with you

>accessing "too much money" online!

Yes, it was a little odd. Probably I got carried away and showed
access to quite a bit more than that, but since I didn't have it
with me it probably shouldn't have mattered.

If I remember right, it was a young lady that had a problem
with it and she called a supervisor over, and he just sort of
asked her, 'Well, what do you want to do about it?', as in did
she want to block me from crossing the border or not.
After a hesitation, she looked at him and said it would probably
be okay to let me pass..

I figured at the time that she was very new to the job and this
was some sort of teaching moment. I don't know for certain if
the supervisor would have gone along with it if she'd chosen to
stop me. They have to be a little careful of being unfair to
Canadians since we bring so much money into the USA as tourists
or 'Snowbirds'..

It was always a bit of a challenge back then going over for
the winter since I was far too young to be retired. (32 or 33)
I usually lied and said it was just a vacation for a few weeks,
and then I'd stay for 4 or 5 months the few times I did that.
I think just 3 times, and then I started spending winters here
in my cottage snowshoeing a mile out for mail and chopping holes
in the ice for water..

I found it boring down there in winter. It was actually cheaper
for me to go there than to pay the heating bills here.. B)

---
* SLMR Rob * If you think nobody cares, try missing a few payments
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hello Mike!

** On Monday 25.08.25 - 10:10, you wrote to me:

So it is returning to the US from Canada, but not entering
Canada, that could trigger these searches? I knew about
crossing into the USA being an issue but I may have
misread your post and thought that Canadian authorities
were also now doing similar searches of incoming tourists.

Both sides reserve the legal right to search devices, but the
US one (CBP) is the one that is doing more of them and even
going as far as copying contents.

Offloading phone images to the laptop won't help - your CBP
would be inspecting laptops too.

That wasn't why I'd be offloading them. I would be
offloading them to free up camera space for the next day
of shooting. ;) Inspections would make me less likely to
carry any extra equipment (like a laptop) for this
purpose.

I dunno.. maybe you could just stash the extra images
(assuming SD media cards) in your wallet. But having them
search a laptop or tablet is going to far imho.

I suppose one could upload an disk image of a laptop to the
cloud, and install a basic linux distro in its place. Then,
once clear of customs, simply reinstall the saved disk image?

Dunno what one can do with a tablet.

... If what we are hearing is true, they are looking for
unflattering memes of Trump and Vance. ;)

Yes.. Txxxx has a problem with other people expressing "free
speech" and opinions about him, and even jokes (a la the
Colbert incident).

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

Both sides reserve the legal right to search devices, but the
US one (CBP) is the one that is doing more of them and even
going as far as copying contents.

What I figured.

I dunno.. maybe you could just stash the extra images
(assuming SD media cards) in your wallet. But having them
search a laptop or tablet is going to far imho.

I agree.

I suppose one could upload an disk image of a laptop to the
cloud, and install a basic linux distro in its place. Then,
once clear of customs, simply reinstall the saved disk image?

I am thinking maybe reimage the HD before leaving on the trip, and
use a different password. That way all that is on it is the OS, software, and the photos in question... no personal data so their copies won't contain
any.

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * Mistress - something between a mister and a mattress.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)