Australia is a U.S. State Department Level 1 destination, but Border Force can examine electronic devices at the border and copy data from them. You are not obliged to give a password, but your device can be seized and held if you refuse. Here is how to arrive with nothing sensitive on it.
Last reviewed: 23 September 2026 · Sources listed at the foot of this page
The U.S. Department of State places Australia at Level 1, Exercise Normal Precautions. [U.S. State Department]
Under Section 186 of the Customs Act 1901, Border Force can examine goods at the border, including phones, laptops and USB drives, and can copy and retain data. You have no legal obligation to provide a password, but a device can be seized and held for later examination. [Australian Border Force] [NSW Courts]
This is a short summary for context. Advisories change; read the official advisory for your nationality before you travel. We are a data-security company, not a travel-safety authority.
An examination can reach the messages, photos and documents on the device, and Border Force can copy and keep that data, and share it with law enforcement if they suspect an offence.
You need not give a password, but the device can be seized and held. The safest device to carry is one that has nothing sensitive on it.
Set up a SpaceBox on a device that stays home, then send it the files you would not want inspected. They are encrypted on your phone and sealed to the home device, and your phone keeps no copy.
Take photos and write notes in the app itself, and they are encrypted and sent to your home SpaceBox without ever sitting in the clear on your phone. Anyone you invite can send you files the same way.
Your files were waiting at home the whole time. You open them on your SpaceBox once you are back, with keys that never left that device.
Everything is encrypted with AES-256-GCM, under keys exchanged with post-quantum ML-KEM-768. The app on the phone you carry acts only as a sender: it stores no files and holds no account or personal data. SpaceBox keeps the documents, photos and notes you would otherwise carry off the device; it does not hide your public social media, so review your accounts and avoid posting sensitive content while you travel. For larger archives, SpaceBox Ground adds more room.
General guidance, not legal advice. Check the official advisory for your nationality before you travel. SpaceBox is not available to residents of the EU and EEA during the beta.
| Scenario | Without SpaceBox | With SpaceBox |
|---|---|---|
| Examination by Border Force | Officers can examine your phone or laptop and copy data. You need not give a password, but the device can be seized and held if you refuse. | Your sensitive files are on your home SpaceBox, not the device, so a search finds nothing sensitive to read. |
| Content and accounts on the device | The messages, photos, documents and accounts on the device are open once it is examined. | You capture notes and photos in the app and send them to your home SpaceBox encrypted, so they are not stored in the clear on the device. |
| Public and hotel Wi-Fi | Data sent over shared networks can be intercepted, and devices are a common target. | Files are encrypted on your device before they leave it, so an intercepted transfer is unreadable. |
| Receiving files while abroad | New documents land in email or cloud apps on the device you carry. | Anyone you invite sends files straight to your home SpaceBox, so they never touch your travel device. |
| Device lost, seized or held | Whoever holds the device can reach whatever is on it or signed in on it. | The device holds no account and no sensitive files; your data stays on the SpaceBox at home. |
The protection comes from your sensitive data not being on the device you carry. The app on that phone holds no account and no stored files.
A 30-day add-on bought inside the app; it raises your quota for the trip and stacks with a free voucher.
Advisory levels and local laws change. The links above are the primary sources; check them for the current position before you travel.
Set up a SpaceBox at home, move your sensitive files to it before you fly, and cross the border with a device that has nothing on it. Free to start, no card, no email.