Travelers coming to the United States should know that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can search an increasing number of electronic devices under a new directive (3340-049B) that was released in early January. According to the directive, an electronic device is “any device that may contain information in an electronic or digital form, such as computers, tablets, disks, drives, tapes, flash drives, SIM cards, global positioning systems, unmanned aircraft systems, vehicle infotainment systems, smart watches, mobile phones, and other communication devices, cameras, music, and other media players.” The previous version (directive 3340-049A) only mentioned “computers, tablets, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones, and other communication devices, cameras, music, and other media players.”
Directive 3340-049B adds several items travelers may carry into the U.S., including flash drives, SIM cards, smartwatches, vehicle infotainment systems, GPS devices, and drones. These are gadgets that may contain additional personal data compared to what’s available on the electronic devices the CBP could already search under the 2018 regulations. Importantly, smartphone access was available to CBP officers under that directive and remains unchanged. That’s a key distinction, considering that a smartphone is the most important computing device a person may use, likely housing more personal data than other electronic devices.
Also notable is a CBP trend that recent reports have highlighted. According to The National Post, U.S. border agents are conducting more electronic device searches at the border. In a 12-month period spanning 2024 and 2025, the CBP performed 55,318 searches, up 17% from the previous year (47,047). In the 2022-2023 period, the CBP performed 41,767 device searches. Overall, the CBP searched the devices belonging to 0.01% of international travelers. The 2024-2025 figures also include searches for 13,590 Americans, a 56% increase over the previous year.
