Additional Security Iphone

If you have a password and fingerprint ID or faceID they can’t see any content unless you unlock it for them.

They can x-ray it and physically examine it, but they cannot compell you to unlock it so they can browse contents.

If you are asked to unlock, refuse to do so. You do have rights, although it can unpleasant at times to see them observed. But all the reports I’ve seen of people being told to allow access, people simply complied and only complained afterwards.

That is nowhere near the same as "checking phones on domestic flights".

..so what is your concern, the TSA while going through the airport, or the FBI?

If it's the TSA, then the advise already given will suffice.

If your worried about the FBI hacking into your phone, I don't think there is anything you can do to stop them if they think they have a reason to hack your phone. Hackers are going to hack.

I suspect you may be conflating two different issues.

1) Yes, the FBI was able to get into an older phone after Apple refused to give them access. However, it was not an individual who gave them access but the company Cellbrite. It cost the FBI about a million dollars and what was done won't work on newer phones.

2) There was an article in the news recently that alleged that TSA was demanding access to people's phones on domestic flights, which they don't have the authority to require. However, no specific incidents had been confirmed. The government does have some right to access phones when you're crossing an international border and can refuse you re-entry into the country if you don't comply.

On additional bit of information.Recent court decisions have held that you can't be compelled to provide your phone's passcode as it would violate your Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. However, the law isn't so settled about finger prints or your face. Just as you can be compelled to provide a DNA sample, there have been some decisions that say you can be compelled to place your finger on the TouchID. So, if this is something that may be an issue for you, disable the biometrics ans use only the passcode.

To supplement IdrisSeabright's reply, Cellbrite now says they can hack any smartphone, and is selling tools to do it for $30,000. This has not been confirmed, and it's likely that Apple will find a way to block it.

Regarding the question of FaceID and TouchID, Apple has address that also. If you press the side button 5 times quickly it will disable FaceID and TouchID until the phone is restarted. And remember that a passcode is required after restarting the phone.

Note that the TSA has not actually asked anyone for access to the contents of the phone, they have merely taken it away for a few minutes. Possibly to test it for explosives. But they aren't saying.

The bigger problem is ICE; they have authority within 150 miles of any border, whether you are crossing the border or not. And there aren't that many inhabited places in the US that are more than 150 miles from a border, because the coastline is considered a border. And they CAN demand access to the contents of your phone.

One more thing you can do. Sync all of your content to iCloud. Log out of iCloud when in a situation where you might feel vulnerable. That will remove the content from your phone, but keep it safe to be restored when you log back in.

Of course, your iPhone isn't your only problem. Essentially the government can get access to almost all of your "private" information whether it's on your phone or not, and Congress has recently extended and "enhanced" the law that allows them to do it. As Scott McNealy (founder of Sun Microsystems) said over 20 years ago, "You have zero privacy. Get over it."

That was an iPhone seized as evidence after a crime. And the company that provided the hack for that older iPhone 5 readily admitted their process will not allow access to an iPhone 6 or newer with Apple’s latest Secure Enclave technology.

But that entire episode had nothing to do with airline travel or the TSA. If someone commits a crime and their smart phone is seized as evidence, the authorities can pursue all sorts of avenues to gain access to its data. And they may not even need access to the phone itself for incriminating data, since they can also then seize your computers, get court orders to access your email accounts, online storage accounts, phone records or anything else they can convince a judge to grant them access to.

If you have a passcode to unlock your phone then no one without that code can access any of your information. Having that and 2 factor authentication will secure your phone. Nothing more is needed.

Thanks for filling in the holes!