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this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2025
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I'm a nobody American citizen. I'll be traveling internationally for a short vacation soon and already decided that the only electronics I'm taking are a burner phone and a loaner laptop I'm checking out from the public library. I have nothing to hide, but the GOP administration have shown they'll make up any excuse to invade privacy and restrict liberty.
Yeah, you do.
You might run into an extra grumpy customs/ICE/TSA/whatever person who felt offended at your mere existence.
Your public library allows you take their loaner laptops out of the country?
They do if you don't tell em
So buy one from walmart/amazon and return it when your done. Don't potentially fuck over your local library, one of the few remaining bastions of public service, when TSA decides it's suspiciously clean (and/or finds probable traces from the person that had it before you).
How am I fucking over my library? If it is seized at the border, I'm on the hook to pay to replace it, and I will.
They aren't in the business of selling laptops. Even if you pay for it they are still out time and resources.
Edit: But the post I was replying to was suggesting lieing (by omission) to the library, which is a shitty thing to do.
Have you ever managed a fleet of computers (corporate, education, industrial, etc)? I can tell you from first hand experience that a dead/damaged/missing/stolen computer is simply business as usual. Also the likelihood it will be seized at the border is low. Its not none, but it is low.
OK
Two words for you: restocking fees!
Rental fee*
If your trip is less than 2 weeks then you can also buy one from the Apple Store
Walmarts return policy for electronics is also only 2 weeks. I know because ill rent out a laptop from them about once a year.
Ah so it's the same. Whenever I have a MacBook in for repairs under warranty I just go and buy another one and return it when I pick up my repaired one haha
As long as you post online about it
I was as amazed as you and went and checked my local library and indeed they do rent laptops.
it’s not rent, you get to borrow them for free.
that's potentially very dangerous--taking a laptop you do not know the history of or what may be hidden in metadata or unused sectors of the internal storage.
Everything is potentially dangerous. US Citizens have been deported
I suppose in that sense, getting any used laptop is always risky. You could pull the hard drive and run some kind of USB live distro.
I suppose they could try to say you had something illegal in the firmware / BIOS. Like ascii stick figure CSAM? 🤷
I hope you have a safe trip and safe return.
Remember to not volunteer any information, and keep answers to questions short and on point. If you can, make sure to tell your friends and family who are staying in the states about your expected departure and return times. Also look up one or two lawyers to have on speed dial on your burner (smart move btw!!).
Don't actually. Just make it boring and empty. If you have porn, they can do things like lie you and say that one of the girls was underage, and then use the threat of prosecution to coerce you into serving as an informant or the likes.
My phone when crossing the border will look something like this:
Trying that from LatAm->USA on a work visa would look something like this at border entry:
🔄🔄🔄
(They figure it’s been factory reset to hide the texts to arrange some “totally legit” work authorization docs, etc.) Take with grain of salt of course
This led me to something interesting!
Dang. I’ll have to remember this next time I cross the boarder lol