Originally Posted by
JakiChan
Actually, I'm not taking a laptop. On this trip, since it's vacation, I'm taking my iPhone and my iPad Pro. And, obviously, with iOS the only two backup options are iCloud or local.
I'm not sure that returning from Japan qualifies as high risk. I'm not going to BlackHat or Russia/China. For a trip like this to be enjoyable I will need my devices to help us get around. I suppose I could buy an iPhone in Japan, but then that seems to defeat the "low-value" part.
I think we may be discussing two different situations here.
From your original post, I believed you were traveling on business and wanted to keep company data secure from the prying eyes of the gubment.
However, since you're taking only an iPhone and iPad Pro, no laptop, it seems more like you're traveling on leisure and want to keep your personal data secure.
In that case, my advice would be much simpler: Don't keep sensitive personal data on your mobile devices at all. There is some sensitive data you will need when traveling - insurance information, emergency contacts, etc - but aside from that, the most of the data you need while traveling is not critically sensitive. Your itinerary, reservation numbers, contact information for the places you will stay and activities in which you might engage, maps, trip photos and notes/journal, all of these data may be private, but they're not life-critical and can be kept on your mobile devices without fear.
Additionally, if you're traveling on leisure to Japan, I doubt you will get heavy scrutiny form US authorities upon your return unless you set off some specific red flag, such as traveling with no luggage, booking last-minute, traveling solo to a destination known for sex trade, or you bungle the routine questions upon re-entry. Granted, I'm going merely on what I've read on FT here, but if you are indeed traveling for leisure to a first-world country like Japan, I doubt that you have much to fear in regard to data security, and require no more than ordinary precautions.
I think you've got more risk of losing your devices to theft or accidents than to CBP confiscation.