This Harmless Behavior Is A Major Red Flag For TSA Agents During A Security Check

Going through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport screening checkpoint can be the most stressful part of your trip. You're removing clothing and taking off your shoes (which luckily is being phased out), juggling your bag of 3.4-ounce or less liquids and large electronics, and retrieving things from your pockets to throw in the bins. Then you have to go through a scanner, and possibly get a pat down. It's a lot, and if it all stresses you out, you may try to relieve the pressure by playing around on your phone. If there's a long wait in the line, you might even be making a call. However, that seemingly normal behavior may be a major red flag for TSA agents, despite the fact that it seems pretty usual and benign to us.

One reason a behavior you wouldn't think twice about under normal circumstances can be an issue in the TSA line is that it means you're likely not paying attention to any verbal or visual instructions given out by TSA agents. That can hold up the line, and it's going to make you stick out. While you may travel all the time, or think you have all the rules down well, they do sometimes change. Different equipment at different airports might mean, for instance, that you're allowed to leave your laptop in your bag at one but have to take it out at the other. Not paying attention can cause issues, and that isn't the only reason you might want to stay off your phone in the TSA security line. Looking at your phone or taking a call may also mean that you're trying to avoid eye contact with TSA agents, which is in itself a red flag.

There is another phone behavior that you should avoid as well, which is recording or taking pictures. While the TSA website states that doing these activities at the security checkpoint isn't against the rules, there are some big caveats. You have to submit your phone for the screening. You can't keep it on your person. (However, make sure you don't make the mistake of putting it in a bin by itself.) If you simply must snap or record something for your social media account, you have to make sure that it doesn't interfere with the screening process. You can't record or take pictures of anything that isn't in public view (they mention the monitors as an example). If they give you a pat down, you still have to be in what they refer to as the proper stance, and you can't block anyone else going through the checkpoint. In addition, according to the TSA website, "holding a recording device up to the face of a TSA officer so that the officer is unable to see or move," is prohibited.

Your best bet is to wait until after you go through the screening to deal with your phone. It's not worth violating any rules and marking yourself as someone to watch. Plus, holding up the line isn't going to do you any favors with TSA agents or your fellow passengers. Once you're through the line, you can do all the social content you like and chat with family and friends. However, make sure you have a charging block with you, because the FBI has warned against charging your phone at an airport USB port.