600 Points
Since 2015, immigration authorities in Germany, for example, have been allowed to search the devices of people who are required to leave the country in order to establish their identity and country of origin. This often happens during official visits. Therefore, leave your device at home or get a burner phone.

More information

Authorities are particularly interested in certain country codes, photographed documents, saved contacts or they look at the languages used in the devices. So leave your device at home. If you have the opportunity, you should get an old burner phone. This phone does not contain any of your personal data. In addition, such a dummy device can help you avoid unpleasant searches for devices. Also, do not give out any passwords.

Particularly important for the following target groups:

Sources and further links

  1. Stricter residence law: detained until departure, netzpolitik.org, (de), 2025-10-20
  2. Cell phone raid to establish identity becomes nationwide standard, netzpolitik.org, (de), 2025-09-25
Show complete list