Overview
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection filed a Federal Register notice to require five years of social‑media identifiers for travelers using the Visa Waiver Program’s ESTA, with comments due by Feb. 9, 2026.
- The proposal broadens required “high‑value” fields to include phone numbers used in the past five years, email addresses from the past ten, IP addresses and photo metadata, plus expanded family details.
- Applicants would have to upload a facial photo through the ESTA website or mobile app, and CBP plans an optional departure‑confirmation tool using geolocation and live‑face detection.
- OMB approved the data collection on an emergency basis, yet the changes remain a proposal under review with no implementation date set.
- Digital‑rights and travel‑industry groups warn of privacy harms and potential declines in visitation, while DHS says the measures implement Executive Order 14161 to strengthen security screening.