Why The TSA Might Swab Your Phone Or Laptop

The Transportation Security Administration is known for occasionally being a bit overly intense when searching passengers. Annoying as it is, it's in the interest of everyone's safety, and as long as you're not doing anything illegal, it shouldn't cause you any more than a mild headache.

But the TSA has a lot of screening procedures in place for identifying dangerous individuals and substances, and some of them can be a bit unclear at first glance. For instance, the TSA can check your phone or laptop. But what are you supposed to think if the TSA agent asks to see your phone or laptop and then starts running a cotton swab all over it? 

Well, it has nothing to do with whatever information is stored on your device. That's not the TSA's department, and they don't care about it. Rather, the purpose of swabbing an electronic device is to check for the presence of chemicals that could signal a danger to the plane and passengers.

Whether it's your devices or just your hands, a TSA agent may occasionally ask you to submit to a swab test. The agent will run the swab across your hands or devices, then stick it in a little machine to see if there's an alert. Those asked to submit to one are either chosen at random or singled out if they're acting in a suspicious manner. In either case, being selected for a swab doesn't mean you're in trouble. 

The substances they're scanning for are chemicals that could be used to create an explosive device, such as accelerants or glycerin. Hidden explosives are one of the TSA's top priorities, and if they find traces of explosive chemicals on your possessions or person, that could imply that you've either been handling explosives or hidden one inside one of your devices. If you haven't been handling any such chemicals and there's no residue on your devices, the swab test will come up negative, and the agent will send you on your way. This is a completely normal, benign test, though you're allowed to request a private test if you feel uncomfortable submitting to it in public.

It's possible for the TSA's detection device to turn up potentially explosive chemicals on your devices or person, even if you've never assembled a bomb. If this happens, don't panic, you're not in trouble. Many situations can trigger false positives in the detection equipment, and the presence of these chemicals on your devices or hands is not a crime in itself.

While substances like accelerants and glycerin can be used to make explosives, they're also extremely common. Glycerin is a major component in hand sanitizer, for instance, and people in some professions like firefighting and the military can encounter accelerants in their work. The TSA is well aware of this and won't just arrest anyone who trips the swab test. In the worst-case scenario, they may ask you a few questions and request to unlock your luggage to take a closer look. It's annoying, but just answer honestly and stay calm, and don't do anything obnoxious like trying to take photos or videos of the TSA agents, and they'll let you go soon enough.