The United Kingdom is a U.S. State Department Level 2 destination, and under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, officers at any port or airport can examine your devices with no prior suspicion and require you to hand over passwords. Here is what that means for what is on your phone, and 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 the United Kingdom at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, citing the risk of terrorism. [U.S. State Department] [U.S. Embassy]
Under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, an examining officer at any port, airport or border area can stop, question and examine you and your electronic devices with no prior suspicion. They can require you to provide passwords and download the contents of a phone or laptop, and refusing is a criminal offence. [Liberty] [Schedule 7 code of practice]
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.
A Schedule 7 examination can reach the messages, photos and documents on the device, and the accounts you can open on it, and it needs no suspicion. Officers can copy the contents.
Because passwords can be compelled and refusal is an offence, a locked device is not a defence. 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 under Schedule 7 | An officer at a port or airport can require you to unlock the device and hand over passwords, with no suspicion, and can copy its contents. | 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.