Be careful what you say
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I just deleted all the political posts I've made on Facebook since Jan this year. My BlueSky account is pretty bland so that's ok.
Then I guess when I'm ready to travel, I will remove the FB app from my phone and iPad, remove the passwords, and remove Firefox from my laptop and only have Edge browser on laptop. Since I don't actually use Edge there won't be any history there, and I can set up my work accounts there
What about Safari on my phone? Can I just delete cookies and passwords??
Anything else I should do before we travel?
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@Jodi said in Be careful what you say:
Hope we can survive it.
I am having a hard time feeling hopeful.... both in terms of the country and in terms of me personally, like is the economy going to tank? Will I still have a job? Will we be able to keep our house? ... all of that....
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I'm married to a tech guy. He says you can't actually remove anything, or records of anything. Anything you post lives on. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Maybe in your situation, SK, traveling overseas, anyone who checks your phones or accounts would not see anything you have deleted. But FB will have the record.
I hate that we are living in fear of such things. Because there are so many people who potentially have so much to lose if they speak out, I am speaking out extra. Military troops risked their lives for the freedoms we have enjoyed. If I put myself in the line of fire by raising my voice, I will view it as my duty to my country--the country that was ours until Jan 20, 2025.
We need more voices. If you can, keep speaking up!
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I'm married to a tech guy. He says you can't actually remove anything, or records of anything. Anything you post lives on. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Maybe in your situation, SK, traveling overseas, anyone who checks your phones or accounts would not see anything you have deleted. But FB will have the record.
I hate that we are living in fear of such things. Because there are so many people who potentially have so much to lose if they speak out, I am speaking out extra. Military troops risked their lives for the freedoms we have enjoyed. If I put myself in the line of fire by raising my voice, I will view it as my duty to my country--the country that was ours until Jan 20, 2025.
We need more voices. If you can, keep speaking up!
@pique said in Be careful what you say:
I'm married to a tech guy. He says you can't actually remove anything, or records of anything. Anything you post lives on.
Yes, I assume thatās the case. Although I did edit everything before deleting, i.e., I edited all the posts first, and saved them, so if you looked at them after editing, you wouldnāt see the original content. I did that in the hopes that the edited post would over-write the original. Then, after that, I deleted them and removed them from the trash. No idea how effective it actually is. But ā¦
Maybe in your situation, SK, traveling overseas, anyone who checks your phones or accounts would not see anything you have deleted.
This was my aim, if Iām at immigration control at the airport and we get selected for a random search and they say āunlock your phoneā or says that to my husband, those posts wonāt show up.
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Is it even possible to travel without a smartphone any more? Can you carry flip phones instead?
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This NYT article is geared towards international visitors. But perhaps still of interest. I didnāt know this:
What rights do visitors have?
U.S. federal law gives government agents the right to search peopleās property, including their phones and laptops, at border entry points. They do not need to be suspected of wrongdoing in order to be searched, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
All visitors have the right to remain silent. But the burden of proof rests with visa holders. For example, if an officer asks if someone plans to work on their tourist visa, and that person remains silent, the officer is likely to deny them entry, Mr. Joseph said.
If a person is found inadmissible during questioning, they can withdraw their intent to enter the country and may then be allowed to travel back to their home country. Their visa is canceled and they often get the next flight home. But an officer can deny the withdrawal, at which point the visitor is detained.
Because these confrontations occur technically outside the country, the rights outlined in the U.S. Constitution do not apply, Mr. Joseph said, and detainees are not necessarily entitled to a lawyer. The government has about 90 days to deport people. That period can be extended if detainees donāt cooperate by providing the correct travel documents, at which point they can be subject to criminal proceedings. Following an order of removal, people are barred from entering the U.S. for five years.. -
This NYT article is geared towards international visitors. But perhaps still of interest. I didnāt know this:
What rights do visitors have?
U.S. federal law gives government agents the right to search peopleās property, including their phones and laptops, at border entry points. They do not need to be suspected of wrongdoing in order to be searched, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
All visitors have the right to remain silent. But the burden of proof rests with visa holders. For example, if an officer asks if someone plans to work on their tourist visa, and that person remains silent, the officer is likely to deny them entry, Mr. Joseph said.
If a person is found inadmissible during questioning, they can withdraw their intent to enter the country and may then be allowed to travel back to their home country. Their visa is canceled and they often get the next flight home. But an officer can deny the withdrawal, at which point the visitor is detained.
Because these confrontations occur technically outside the country, the rights outlined in the U.S. Constitution do not apply, Mr. Joseph said, and detainees are not necessarily entitled to a lawyer. The government has about 90 days to deport people. That period can be extended if detainees donāt cooperate by providing the correct travel documents, at which point they can be subject to criminal proceedings. Following an order of removal, people are barred from entering the U.S. for five years..@wtg said in Be careful what you say:
U.S. federal law gives government agents the right to search peopleās property, including their phones and laptops, at border entry points. They do not need to be suspected of wrongdoing in order to be searched, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Yes, and the officers donāt need a warrant the way they would in the U.S. (e.g., on the t]streets, at your house etc.). As far as I know, this applies to anyone, not just non-citizen visitors.
If a person is found inadmissible during questioning, they can withdraw their intent to enter the country and may then be allowed to travel back to their home country. Their visa is canceled and they often get the next flight home. But an officer can deny the withdrawal, at which point the visitor is detained.
Yep, and this is a very scary option IMO.
Because these confrontations occur technically outside the country, the rights outlined in the U.S. Constitution do not apply, Mr. Joseph said, and detainees are not necessarily entitled to a lawyer.
This detail I did not know.
The government has about 90 days to deport people.
90 days is an awfully long time.
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@pique said in Be careful what you say:
Okay, but why do need a smartphone? Why won't old technology be sufficient?
Not really, you need a camera to access QR codes at immigration in Japan, you need access to the internet on your phone for various things, and I would need access to train info, GPS etc. to get around.
Oh also, you ācanā fly without a smart phone, but it makes things much harder, since everything assumes you have a smartphone and thatās how your tickets are displayed etc. If you should experience flight disruptions, not having a smartphone would make it very difficult to change flights, do all of that stuffā¦
As for getting a new phone once in Japan, I think I would need access to my US phone for various things, like taking care of my house in the U.S., accessing my bank account, which canāt be done without two-factor, and my two-factor is tied to my cellphone numberā¦ I also need my cellphone number to access my university stuff as well bc everything is two-factor nowā¦
I mean, Iām sure things could be done without a smartphone, but it would make everything enormously difficult.
Another thing that occurred to me is, just how suspicious I would look with burner devices. Like, what is this random lady trying to hide!
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Iām not doing anything that would get me in trouble, itās just if Iām selected for a random search, I donāt want anything to look āanti-orangeā and more to the point, if someone opens Facebook on my husbandās phone, I donāt want any political posts by me to show up. And now they wonāt.
Beyond that, I think I just need to āprepā my phone before travel. Sign out of everything, clear cache/cookies from iPhone safari, remove apps for Facebook and Messengerā¦ I can leave BlueSky thereā¦
On my laptop, remove the Firefox browser completely bc thatās the main browser I use. Set up Edge as the main browser, which is fine, and the history will show that I access work-related pagesā¦
I donāt know, this all ought to be sufficientā¦ but itās hard not to be afraid, with everything you hear in the news right now.
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@Rontuner yeah, Iām going to have to start learning about burner phonesā¦. Because I feel like I really need to have access to my phone number while Iām away, but I think if you get a burner phone and then it has your regular phone number, it defeats the purpose right?
@pique said in Be careful what you say:
Man, SK, I'm sorry for the stress this must be causing you.
Thank you.
This is really tearing me upā¦ Mr SK has made so many sacrifices over the years for me, to be here in the U.S. with me.
If we canāt safely travel back and forth to Japan, without fear of detainmentā¦. Especially when neither us are doing anything wrongā¦
And the biggest problem Iām grappling with right now is timing, because now is the time to make airplane reservations for overseas summer travel. The longer you wait, the more expensive it gets, and seats start getting taken etcā¦. But I donāt have any clarityā¦. I donāt think anyone does.
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I don't know anything about burner phones but wondered...
If you use a sim card and swap it to another phone that only has what's needed for travel so the number stays the same, would that work?Only use the Brave browser in private mode (or other) to access everything you need or do on the web? It would mean signing in every time...? That is, don't use any apps except what's needed for travel?
I don't know.
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I'm deleting nothing. Fuck 'em and fuck him.
I'm giving an interview on CGTN IChinese media) Monday night on the administration's assault on the Department of Education.
I just don't care. I will not bend the knee, kiss the ass, or offer up prior obedience.
Crazy economist who likes to write about higher education.
