Honestly, I feel like I'd be more suspicious of someone who had little to nothing installed on their phone.

prmoustache 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A lot of people are still using their smartphone pretty much as a dumbphone with a web browser.

Yeah but if you're a normal guy strolling through every time with a phone that has nothing- no pictures, no signed in email, no history of messages, 4 contacts. That's abnormal, no way of spinning it as "but I just don't use my phone much" will make that seem normal. The average person has their phone glued to their body 24/7 now. Implying that you don't is abnormal.

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hamper653 2 hours ago | parent [-]

"I only ever cross borders with a blank phone because I don’t want you invading my privacy" is a perfectly valid answer. You can also add that it is your employer’s policy and/or your government official recommendation.

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Terr_ an hour ago | parent | next [-]

You can also point out that other countries want to search phones too.

"I have to do this because of country X, you know that they're like, amirite?"

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inigyou 41 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

It's one that will get you denied entry, or detained indefinitely.

	▲	microtonal 33 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		I have worked for employers that required taking a burner phone to certain countries without any accounts logged in, etc. (so mostly for calls, maps, and web browsing) and nobody has ever been detained or denied entry. Some countries know that this is just standard procedure when they are visited for business trips. Probably different for the US though. (Not legal advise of course, just observation. Always check with the legal department of your employer, etc.)

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progbits 26 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Even more of a reason for good and easy backup and restore.

Before travel back up the real contents and restore a dummy travel backup with random games, stock photos etc. Then restore back to real contents.

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XorNot 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Sure but there'd be nothing there.

If the regime is going to just start taking people then nothing will stop that, but the goal is to stop the usefulness of this sort of thing as an intimidation measure - or at least drag it to the forefront and overthrow the regime.

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izacus 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The easiest way to avoid suspicion is to have a phone filled with cat and family pictures, dumb apps and games.

You don't avoid scrutiny by being wierd and hiding things, but by hiding in plain sight by being ultra boring.

	▲	bloak 5 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		On the other hand, if everything about you is boring, that in itself may begin to seem suspicious. "I borrowed this old phone from my stepson because my own phone got run over by a steamroller at a vintage vehicle show" is the sort of thing an actual spy or criminal would never say.