Your computer: Windows and Mac

For anyone whose computer holds documents, chats or social media and could be seized in a search or inspected at a border.

The 5-minute minimum

• Turn on disk encryption: Mac System Settings → Privacy & Security → FileVault; Windows 11 Settings → Privacy & security → Device encryption (BitLocker on Pro).
• Don't keep the recovery key on this computer. On a Mac you can choose 'Create a recovery key and do not use my iCloud account'. In Windows, if you sign in with a Microsoft account, the key is saved in that account: write it down and decide whether you want to keep it there.
• Set a login password and auto-lock after a few minutes. Shut the computer down rather than putting it to sleep before a trip and when you fear a search: an encrypted disk is best protected when the computer is off.
• Keep the system and browser updated.

If you are at risk

• Mac: Lockdown Mode (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Lockdown Mode) for those who may be targeted by spyware.
• Windows on Copilot+ PCs: check that Recall, which saves screen snapshots, is off: Settings → Privacy & security → Recall & snapshots.
• Telegram Desktop and other messengers on a computer store your messages and files. Before a trip, sign out of them and end the session from your phone.
• For a trip to Russia or Belarus a laptop without work data, with a new user account and not signed in to your main accounts, is safer.
• Keep passwords in a password manager with a master password, not in an unprotected browser.

What not to do

• Don't leave the computer on and unlocked unattended.
• Don't install software from forwarded links or 'cracked' versions: this is how spyware is spread.
• Don't keep an unencrypted backup on a USB stick next to the computer.
• Don't remotely wipe a seized phone or laptop (Find My, Find Hub) without talking to a lawyer first: it can be treated as destroying evidence.
• If a case has been opened, a report drawn up or your phone seized, don't delete anything without a lawyer: deletion can be used against you and won't remove what the authorities have already copied.

What traces remain

• Cloud sync (iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Google Drive) keeps copies of files outside the computer.
• A browser you are signed in to syncs your history to all your devices.
• Even an encrypted disk is open while the computer is on and you are logged in.

current as of 26 September 2026. More: Security in-a-Box: protecting Windows (Russian); Security in-a-Box: protecting a Mac (Russian); Apple: encrypt your Mac with FileVault; EFF Surveillance Self-Defense: encrypting your device (Russian); Microsoft: finding your BitLocker recovery key; First Line: strong passwords and password managers