Im going to be going on vacation and travel in November, and honestly, this is needed. I’m on the lookout for a secondary phone that i can degoogle real quick, put the neccessary apps that i need and just call it a day. I’m already prepping my family and stating that im not gonna bring my primary phone. I was wondering what do you guys use, if any of yall bring a secondary phone. (FYI: I am in the US and will be traveling internationally)
It kinda depends on what your goal is. I tend to point people towards iphones in this situation because they don’t attract attention and can be easily secured. If you absolutely gotta have Android the best choice is a pixel with graphene. You gotta make sure the bootloader and carrier are both unlocked so you can install graphene though, so that’s something to navigate.
You said elsewhere that you don’t use eBay because of their age verification. It may be worthwhile, if you are underage, to think critically about what you’re trying to accomplish here.
My vacation is just personal travel; away from work, and stress, nothing to serious.
But,due to the extreme situation thats going on with ICE at the airports, mass deportations, and tensions from Americans traveling to other countires, i just dont want anything to happen to my personal phone; if something was to happen.
Apple may be secure, but they are not private, they’re just better at hiding it. They use trackers everywhere on all their apps, and are pushing AI just like google. It dosent matter if you use a firewall VPN, blockers or anything, iOS can bypass all of that and still track you. Plus, you cant sideload anything, unless you jailbreak.
If you want to have a different Android device then your only real choice for crossing a border is graphene, assuming you care about not being detained the maximum amount of time that is legal while they apply celebrite to your phone.
In this circumstance it’s not out of the range of possibilities for dhs to get a warrant (they don’t need it if the place is close enough to a land border or international airport) and search your home or business where you left your current personal phone. They will have the home address from your passport (it’s illegal to not update it!) and will likely have no problem locating your place of business.
The problem with graphene at border crossings is that it’s made the news a bunch lately and an agent could see simply having a phone with graphene as probable cause, especially if you act like a weirdo.
The above is the reason I suggested ios devices. They resist cellebrite and look normal.
If you literally just want an android phone that you can use on vacation instead of your usual one, I hope you find some good input and resolve your needs.