5 ways I protect my phone or laptop during cross-border checks

I’m a dual US-Canadian citizen, with friends and family on both sides of the border. That’s meant a lot of international travel in the past, but frankly, I’m a little nervous about the prospect of flying back to the US in the current political climate. The Customs and Border Protection agency has ramped up its searches of phones, laptops, and other devices, checking 14,899 between April and June 2025 alone. Yes, the odds are that I’ll be able to fly to the country without much trouble — but I don’t want to risk delays or seizures, and I do value my privacy.