How US Plans to Enforce Five-Year Social Media Checks for Visa-Free Travellers

The United States (US) has unveiled a sweeping proposal that could dramatically alter the process for millions of international travellers entering the country without a visa, as Washington moves to tighten digital security screening under its Visa Waiver Programme.

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that all individuals applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation will soon be required to submit their social media history covering the past five years. This marks a shift from the current voluntary disclosure to a mandatory requirement under the new guidelines.

The directive stems directly from Executive Order 14161, signed in January 2025, which mandated heightened screening protocols to detect foreign security threats. The proposed revision, published in a public notice ahead of its entry into the Federal Register, signals one of the most extensive digital-vetting expansions in US immigration history.

According to the DHS notice, “ESTA applicants will now be required to provide their social media from the last five years,” a decision officials say is essential for identity verification and fraud detection. US Customs and Border Protection added that the update would strengthen national security by assisting officers in flagging suspicious digital patterns linked to applicants.

Beyond social media scrutiny, the new regulations seek to widen the personal data collected from travellers. CBP plans to introduce additional “high-value data fields,” including email addresses used over the last decade, phone numbers from the past five years, IP address logs, and even metadata attached to photos submitted during the application process.

The proposed rule also expands biometric requirements. Travellers may soon have to provide facial recognition data, fingerprints, iris scans, and potentially DNA samples—far exceeding the current level of screening for visa-free entrants.

Another significant change is DHS’ plan to phase out the ESTA web platform and transition to an entirely mobile-based application system. With over 14 million ESTA applications processed annually, the shift could introduce new challenges for global travellers, especially those unfamiliar with mobile-only immigration processes.

The updated requirements will apply to citizens of the 40 countries currently participating in the US Visa Waiver Programme once finalised. Homeland Security has opened a 60-day window for public comments before the rule is approved.

If adopted, the policy would represent a major transformation in how the US manages border security, creating what experts describe as one of the strictest digital identity vetting frameworks for visa-free travel anywhere in the world.