14 DAY TRIAL // 1Password, one of the most popular password managers in the world, has created Travel Mode, which is a new feature that will allow users to protect their 1Password data from unwarranted searches when they travel.
In short, if those border agents are planning to ask you to unlock your electronic device, they won't stumble upon all your passwords for various accounts. There have been numerous occasions since Trump walked into the White House, when US border agents have taken it upon themselves to start searching through people's social media accounts. Denying them access can have immediate effects and people can be refused entry into the country.
Since this is a problem that's not necessarily confined to US borders, 1Password has decided it's best to introduce this new feature to protect people's data.
The new feature is available to users who have a subscription with the company, whether 1Password Teams or 1Password Family. This isn't a thing of paying for this feature, but rather having an online account where the stored information can be synced. Therefore, you can delete the information and restore it once you're in the clear.
How can you do this?
What you need to do is sign into your account on 1Password.com, put the items that you want to be able to access when traveling into a separate vault and mark it as "safe for travel." Then, you can turn on Travel Mode in your profile and unlock 1Password on the devices you'll be traveling with. All the vaults that have not been marked as "safe for travel" will be automatically removed from those devices.
Once you're in the clear, and you've passed border inspection, you can login into the 1Password.com account, turn off travel mode, and all your vaults will be restored to your device.
"Your vaults aren’t just hidden; they’re completely removed from your devices as long as Travel Mode is on. That includes every item and all your encryption keys. There are no traces left for anyone to find. So even if you’re asked to unlock 1Password by someone at the border, there’s no way for them to tell that Travel Mode is even enabled," the company explains.
The feature is even cooler for 1Password Team users because admins can decide what information employees can travel with.