US To Demand 5-yr Social Media History For Visa-free Travellers

The United States government is set to tighten its visa-free travel rules with a new proposal mandating all travellers under the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) to submit a five year record of their social media activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the development on Wednesday, marking a significant expansion of security and identity-verification procedures for foreign visitors.

Under existing regulations, providing social media details is optional. However, the proposed rule, published ahead of its listing in the Federal Register would make it compulsory.

According to the notice, “The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last five years.”

Beyond social media accounts, applicants would also be required to submit email addresses used in the past 10 years, phone numbers from the last five years, IP addresses, photo metadata, and extensive family information. Biometric demands would further widen to include facial recognition, fingerprints, iris scans, and DNA samples.

US Customs and Border Protection said the enhanced requirements were aimed at strengthening identity checks, curbing fraudulent applications, and identifying potential security threats.

Another major change is a planned shift from the current web-based ESTA portal to a mobile-only application system.

If approved, the policy would affect travellers from the 40 countries participating in the US Visa Waiver Programme, which processes over 14 million applications each year.

The DHS has opened a 60-day window for public comments. Officials said the move aligns with Executive Order 14161, signed in January 2025, which calls for more rigorous screening to flag foreign security risks.

Recent reports indicate that social media posts have already influenced entry decisions. In one case, a French scientist was denied entry in March after border officials reviewed posts on his phone they deemed supportive of terrorism.

Critics warned that the proposal could raise serious privacy and free-speech concerns for travellers.

The DHS maintained that the new measures were designed to improve border security and update federal biographic-data standards, potentially becoming one of the most sweeping expansions of digital identity verification in US immigration history.