Ok, but try refusing the requests of border authorities in any country and see how far you get before you find yourself escorted to a back room.

I've visited 45 countries in my life and I've never ever been even asked once to even show the contents of my bag, let alone access to my phone.

That doesn't change the fact that once you will be asked about that, your refusal will mean a flight back home at best.

The point is, no normal country globally asks those from any normal tourist. Adding ever for those in the back.

Not if it's against the local laws.

It's extremely dangerous to condone and think that police officers are entitled to write the rules.

The border officials have wide discretion to deny non-citizen entry in most countries for whatever reason they choose.

The Italians do the same thing. If your name matches some name or you’ve travelled to some naughty place, you’ll get picked for this sort of thing.

That said, the last time I went to Italy the customs guy looked annoyed at being awake. He asked my son’s age (he is huge but too young to use the electronic gate), then shrugged and stamped my passport with all of his strength.

Don't spread misinformation. The difference is that in Italy it is not against the law to not hand out the password to your phone -- or anything else for that matter.

In the United States, you have a fundamental right to not testify against yourself, including providing a password. You can be compelled to provide a biometric. The UK has taken a different approach and my understanding is that you can be jailed for refusing to provide a password.

Most countries recognize very different limits at a customs boundary. Is this appropriate in an age where a tiny device gives you access to all of your "papers" in many cases? I don't think so, but international law doesn't recognize our concerns with respect to that.

> Most countries recognize very different limits at a customs boundary.

In the US I've heard that boundary (the "border") encompasses ~75% of everyone living inside. It's like "within X miles of a border" and includes rivers and airports as well as the entire coastline.

I'm not up to date on these rules and who's been caught out by them, but I have repeatedly heard the claim above.

That is also true in the US. Of course they can use it as a reason to deny you access to the country if you’re a noncitizen, but you don’t have to hand it over.

You're mistaking laws that hold for citizens and rules that hold for immigration and thus spreading misinformation.

Even on Schengen borders they can ask you for your phone and deny your entry if you don't comply as a non-citizen.

Buy a travel phone specifically meant to be opened by them.

There's enough places in the world where this isn't necessary, so no, thank you.

Is there any country in the world that has an explicit policy saying that non-citizens don’t need to provide phone passwords on entry? I’d consider a burner phone necessary to visit any country that doesn’t have such a policy.