all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited is een all-in-one privacy-oplossing"],"Black Friday":["Black Friday"],"No ads. Privacy by default.":["Geen advertenties. Standaard privacy."],"People before profits":["Mensen vóór winst"],"Security through transparency":["Veiligheid door openheid"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["De beste ${ BLACK_FRIDAY }-deals voor Proton Mail"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["'s Werelds enige door de community ondersteunde e-mailservice"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ hours } hour":["${ hours } uur","${ hours } uur"],"${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } and ${ secondsLeft } left":["Nog ${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } en ${ secondsLeft } resterend"],"${ minutes } minute":["${ minutes } minuut","${ minutes } minuten"],"${ seconds } second":["${ seconds } seconde","${ seconds } seconden"],"Limited time offer":["Aanbieding beperkt geldig"]},"specialoffer:listitem":{"Create multiple addresses":["Maak meerdere e-mailadressen aan"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Hide-my-email-aliassen"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Meld u eenvoudig af voor nieuwsbrieven"],"Use your own domain name":["Gebruik uw eigen domeinnaam"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Zoals te lezen in"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Kies voor beveiligde e-mail die uw privacy beschermt"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Tot 40% korting"]},"specialoffer:newmetadescription":{"Get up to 40% off Proton Mail subscriptions this Black Friday. Find great deals on our secure end-to-end encrypted email plans.":["Profiteer tijdens Black Friday van wel 40% korting op Proton Mail-abonnementen. Bekijk geweldige aanbiedingen voor onze veilige, end-to-end versleutelde e-mailabonnementen."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Proton Mail Black Friday Sale | Tot 40% korting op veilige e-mail"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["*U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor het eerste jaar"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor de eerste 2 jaar"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["30 dagen niet-goed-geld-terug-garantie"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor de eerste 2 jaar"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor het eerste jaar"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["U bespaart ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ DISCOUNT } off":["−${ DISCOUNT }"],"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["−${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Ik ben fan van ProtonMail"],"My favorite email service":["Mijn favoriete e-mailservice"],"Thanks Proton for keeping us all safe in the complicated internet universe.":["Proton houdt ons allemaal veilig in het complexe internetuniversum."],"You get what you pay for. In the case of big tech, if you pay nothing, you get used. I quit using Gmail and switched to @ProtonMail":["Je krijgt waarvoor je betaalt. In het geval van Big Tech betekent 'gratis' dat je wordt gebruikt. Ik ben gestopt met Gmail en overgestapt op @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["Dagen"],"Hours":["Uur"],"Min":["Min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["En nog veel meer"],"Make your inbox yours":["Personaliseer uw inbox"],"Safe from trackers":["Beschermd tegen trackers"],"Stay organized":["Houd overzicht"],"Black Friday email deals":["Black Friday-deals voor e-mail"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["U hoeft ons niet te geloven"],"Our story":["Ons verhaal"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Zet uw gegevens van Google over met één klik"]},"specialoffer:tooltip":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, connect up to 10 devices, access worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé. Met ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servers in meer dan ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } landen, verbinding met maximaal 10 apparaten, wereldwijd toegang tot streamingdiensten, malware- en advertentieblokkering, en meer."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Deel uw agenda eenvoudig met uw familie, vrienden of collega's, en bekijk externe agenda's."],"Includes support for 1 custom email domain, 10 email addresses, 10 hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Ondersteuning voor 1 aangepast e-maildomein, 10 e-mailadressen, 10 hide-my-email-aliassen, gedeelde agenda's en meer."],"Includes support for 3 custom email domains, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Ondersteuning voor 3 aangepaste e-maildomeinen, 15 e-mailadressen, onbeperkt hide-my-email-aliassen, gedeelde agenda's en meer."],"Manage up to 25 calendars, mobile apps, secured with end-to-end encryption, 1-click calendar import from Google, and more.":["Beheer tot 25 agenda's, mobiele apps, beveiligd met end-to-end versleuteling, agenda's van Google importeren met 1 klik, en meer."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["Momenteel werkt de dienst van Proton VPN niet naar behoren"],"Learn more":["Meer informatie"]},"Status banner":{"Learn more":["Meer informatie"],"Please note that at the moment we are experiencing issues with the ${ issues[0] } service.":["We ondervinden op dit moment problemen met de ${ issues[0] }service."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["We ondervinden momenteel problemen met een of meer services."]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Suggesties"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subcategorie","Subcategorieën"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } min","${ readingTime } min"],"Category":["Categorie","Categorieën"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["Niet gevonden wat u zocht?"],"General contact":["Algemene contactgegevens"],"Get help":["Krijg hulp"],"Legal contact":["Contactgegevens voor juridische zaken"],"Media contact":["Contactgegevens voor media"],"Partnerships contact":["Contactgegevens voor partnerschappen"],"Reading":["Lezen"]},"Support categories":{"Browse Proton product support":["Zoeken in Proton-productondersteuning"]},"Support category":{"There is no article in this category yet.":["Er zijn nog geen artikelen in deze categorie."]},"Support troubleshooting":{"--- Select ---":["--- Selecteren ---"],"App version":["App-versie"],"Browser":["Browser"],"Check if this helps":["Kijk of dit helpt"],"Choose a category for your question":["Kies een categorie voor uw vraag"],"Choose a product":["Kies een product"],"Did this solve your issue ?":["Heeft dit uw probleem opgelost?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away — please make your selections":["Snellere ondersteuning binnen een paar klikken — maak uw keuze"],"No, contact support":["Nee, contact opnemen met ondersteuning"],"Proton account":["Proton-account"],"Proton Bridge":["Proton Bridge"],"Proton Calendar":["Proton Calendar"],"Proton Drive":["Proton Drive"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Proton Mail":["Proton Mail"],"Proton Pass":["Proton Pass"],"Proton VPN":["Proton VPN"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Bedankt voor uw feedback"],"Troubleshooting":["Probleemoplossing"],"What can we help with ?":["Waar mogen we u bij helpen?"],"Yes":["Ja"]},"support_modal_search_query":{"Search query":["Zoekopdracht"]},"support_search_button":{"Search":["Zoeken"]},"support_search_i_am_looking_for":{"I'm looking for":["Ik ben op zoek naar"]},"SupportForm":{"For a faster resolution, please report the issue from the Bridge app: Help > Report a problem.":["Om problemen sneller op te lossen, meldt u het via de Bridge-app: Help > Een probleem melden."],"Information":["Informatie"]},"SupportForm:option":{"Account Security":["Accountbeveiliging"],"Contacts":["Contactpersonen"],"Custom email domain":["Aangepast e-maildomein"],"Email delivery and Spam":["E-maillevering en spam"],"Encryption":["Versleuteling"],"Login and password":["Inlognaam en wachtwoord"],"Merge aliases and accounts":["Aliassen en accounts samenvoegen"],"Migrate to Proton":["Migreren naar Proton"],"Notifications":["Meldingen"],"Other":["Overig"],"Plans and billing":["Abonnementen en facturering"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Sign up":["Inschrijven"],"Storage":["Opslag"],"Users, addresses, and identities":["Gebruikers, adressen en identiteiten"]},"SupportForm:optionIntro":{"Select a topic":["Kies een onderwerp"]},"swiss_baseed_feature":{"Swiss based":["Gevestigd in Zwitserland"]},"Testimonial":{"Awards":["Awards"],"Customers":["Klanten"],"Featured":["Featured"],"Go to testimonial source":["Naar bron van testimonial"],"Reviews":["Reviews"],"Videos":["Video's"]},"Text":{"Find the plan that's right for you":["Vind het abonnement dat bij u past"],"If you need help, check out our ${ supportLink }.":["Bekijk onze ${ supportLink } als u hulp nodig hebt."],"The page you’re looking for might have been removed, or it could be an\nold link.":["De pagina waarnaar u op zoek bent, is mogelijk verwijderd, of u gebruikt een oude koppeling."]},"Title":{"On this page":["Op deze pagina"],"Related articles":["Gerelateerde artikelen"],"Share ${ thisPage }":["${ thisPage } delen"],"Thank you!":["Bedankt!"],"this page":["deze pagina"]},"Tooltip":{"More information":["Meer informatie"]},"tooltip_calendar":{"Create up to 20 custom & shareable encrypted calendars. On top of that, add up to 5 calendars from friends, family, colleagues, and organizations.":["Maak tot 20 aangepaste en deelbare versleutelde agenda's aan. Voeg daar bovenop tot 5 agenda's toe van vrienden, familie, collega's en organisaties."]},"tooltip_vpn":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé. Met meer dan ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servers in meer dan ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } landen, de hoogste VPN-snelheid, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } VPN-verbindingen, wereldwijde streamingdiensten, malware- en advertentieblokkering, en meer."],"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, 10 VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé. Met meer dan ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servers in meer dan ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } landen, de hoogste VPN-snelheid, 10 VPN-verbindingen, wereldwijde streamingdiensten, malware- en advertentieblokkering, en meer."]},"version_history_label":{"Version history":["Versiegeschiedenis"]},"version_history_tooltip":{"Store up to ${ versionHistoryNumber } versions of each file for up to ${ years } years":["Bewaar tot ${ versionHistoryNumber } versies van elk bestand tot wel ${ years } jaar"]},"vpn_features_link":{"View VPN plans":["VPN-abonnementen bekijken"]},"vpn_features_useCase":{"Access blocked content and browse privately":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé"]}}},"unleashApi":"https://account.proton.me/api"};
// We need to import data (the framework context) from the server
// This Astro feature with define:vars works well but creates an inline script
// So we can't directly import the initFramework helper, we have to store the context
window.frameworkContext = frameworkContext;
})();
How to protect your phone or computer when crossing borders | Proton
Crossing an international border is often a stressful experience. It becomes all the more stressful if you are pulled aside for further inspection. Border searches, including phone searches and laptop searches, have become more common in recent years, particularly in the United States. There, electronic device searches rose from 8,503(new window) in 2015 to 30,200(new window) in 2017. But the US isn’t the only country where your device can be searched, seized, or analyzed at the border. The UK(new window), Canada(new window), and plenty of states with even weaker privacy protections (Israel, Turkey, etc.) allow similar searches.
But what if you don’t want to forfeit your right to privacy and data security just because you travel? While the law doesn’t make it easy for you to keep your data safe, that doesn’t mean you have to make it easy for the border guards, either. This article explores the issues surrounding data privacy at the border, including what border police can and can’t do, and the steps you can take to minimize your risks. Most of the information here relates to protecting your data at the US border because device searches there are widespread, invasive, and formalized in agency policy (and therefore easier to analyze). But many of the same principles apply to crossing any international border.
Broadly speaking, if you are a citizen of the country you are trying to enter, you will not be denied entry for refusing to let agents search your device. But your device can be taken, and you can be detained for hours or days. If you are not a citizen of the country you want to enter, you can be denied entry for refusing a device search.
Border police are allowed to search your devices
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are responsible for enforcing immigration laws and preventing the entry of criminals. Courts have so far ruled that they are allowed to search your devices for any reason or no reason at all. You might get flagged for a device search because there is something wrong with your travel documents, your name is in a law enforcement database, or you were simply chosen for random search.
There are two levels of search, according to the CBP policy on device searches(new window). A basic search is a simple inspection of your data, including your apps, photos, chats, and other files. An advanced search involves using external equipment to access files (including deleted data), copy data, and analyze it. CBP agents need to have reasonable suspicion of a crime or violation, or a national security concern and supervisor approval.
Agents can also “detain” your device for a “reasonable period of time” while they extract your data, copy it, or attempt to break your passwords or encryption.
7 ways to protect your data at the border
You must weigh the practical risks when deciding whether to resist a device search because doing so risks escalating the situation. For non-citizens, including permanent residents, the risks are greater: You could be denied entry. For citizens, you cannot be denied entry (in the vast majority of countries), but you can be detained, which is stressful and could mean missing your connecting flight. You may also be forced to give up your device for days.
But if you decide to take measures to protect your data at the border, despite the risks, it requires a bit of planning in advance. Below is a list of things to keep in mind when preparing for an international trip. The security measures you ultimately decide to take will require you to weigh your risk tolerance against your desire to enforce your right to privacy.
1. Be polite and do not lie
The most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with law enforcement is that they have the power to detain you, charge you with a crime, and even physically subdue you. Lying to law enforcement agents is a crime in most countries, so you should avoid making any false or misleading statements. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) also recommends that you do not try any technical tricks(new window) (such as using a second password that unlocks a dummy user account, disguising data, etc.) that could be seen as lying. Be calm and polite, but assertive.
2. Delete apps and data from your device
The only sure way to protect data from a border agent is to delete it from your device. We recommend using erasing software that completely wipes data so that it cannot be recovered later. Be sure to back up your data first using a secure cloud backup (or using an external storage device that is not traveling with you).
In the US, border agents are only allowed to access data on the device itself, not cloud data. Therefore, to avoid inadvertently accessing remote data, they are required to ask you to set your device to airplane mode (or they may do it themselves in some circumstances). However, many apps retain cached data in cleartext. So you may want to consider temporarily deleting these apps or clearing their data.
Note: border agents may find it suspicious if you present them with a device with no data or apps on it. This, in turn, may give them justification to confiscate your device, flag your name for future border screenings, or deny you entry to the country.
3. Turn off your device
Most devices use elevated security settings after being powered off, such as encrypting the hard disk or requiring a password to unlock rather than a fingerprint or face recognition. Turning off your device before arriving at border security will make it more difficult for them to access your data if you decide not to give them your password.
4. The decision to give up your passwords
CBP policy states that agents are allowed to request passwords for your device and for password-protected apps, and “travelers are obligated” to help the agents search their devices. If you decline their request to give up your passwords, agents are allowed to confiscate the device to try to break their way in or to contact their lawyers to legally compel you to give them your password. And you may be detained (if you are a citizen) or expelled from the country (if you are not).
If you are a lawyer, you may invoke attorney-client privilege, which triggers a series of procedures to try to segregate privileged data from the rest of the search. Others carrying sensitive data, such as journalists or doctors, may also notify officers why they have a special obligation to protect their data, but it may not work.
Typically, the password you enter to unlock your device only restricts access to your unencrypted data. This will not prevent border agents from accessing your data using forensic tools. Using full disk encryption(new window), however, can block access so long as they don’t learn your decryption password.
6. Write down everything
If border agents try to search your phone or laptop, you should write down everything you can remember about the experience. Get their names, badge numbers, and agencies. This information will be useful later if you decide to file a complaint or a lawsuit. The EFF can offer you assistance if you feel your rights were violated(new window).
7. Securing your Proton Mail account
If you’re concerned about border agents reading your Proton Mail emails, we recommend deleting the Proton Mail app from your phone or tablet before you arrive at the checkpoint and logging out of your account in the web browser. If you use Proton Mail Bridge(new window), delete your folders containing Proton Mail emails. You can easily re-sync them with your mail client later.
Conclusion
Dealing with border agents is always stressful. Confronting them over your right to privacy can make the experience even more harrowing, not to mention inconvenient. At Proton Mail, we believe your right to privacy should not be infringed just because you are crossing a border. You can learn more about data privacy and security in our guide for journalists(new window), which contains useful tips and links to other resources.
Proton Mail and Proton VPN are funded by community contributions. If you would like to support our development efforts, you can upgrade to a paid plan(new window). Thank you for your support!
WeTransfer is a popular service used by millions worldwide to send large files.
You may have wondered if it’s safe or whether you should use it to share
sensitive files. We answer these questions below and present a WeTransfer
alternative that may su
Dictionary attacks are a common method hackers use to try to crack passwords and
break into online accounts.
While these attacks may be effective against people with poor account security,
it’s extremely easy to protect yourself against them by usi
Data breaches are increasingly common. Whenever you sign up for an online
service, you provide it with personal information that’s valuable to hackers,
such as email addresses, passwords, phone numbers, and more. Unfortunately, many
online services f
Secure, seamless communication is the foundation of every business. As more
organizations secure their data with Proton, we’ve dramatically expanded our
ecosystem with new products and services, from our password manager to Dark Web
Monitoring for cr
On the subject of cybersecurity, one term that often comes up is brute force
attack. A brute force attack is any attack that doesn’t rely on finesse, but
instead uses raw computing power to crack security or even the underlying
encryption.
In this a
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has become notorious as
the legal justification allowing federal agencies like the NSA, CIA, and FBI to
perform warrantless wiretaps, which sweep up the data of hundreds of thousands
of US citi