Under a proposal now circulating ahead of its publication in the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to overhaul the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Among the most prominent changes is a move to make disclosure of social-media activity from the previous five years mandatory — a departure from the current policy, where providing such identifiers is optional.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the measure is intended to align with Executive Order 14161, issued in January 2025, which instructs federal agencies to enhance digital-screening tools as part of broader national-security efforts. CBP argues that compulsory reporting of social-media handles would help confirm traveler identities, deter fraudulent applications, and support more robust security assessments.
The agency has outlined an even more extensive expansion of the data ESTA applicants would be required to submit. Proposed additions include email addresses used over the past decade, phone numbers from the previous five years, IP-address history, and certain photo metadata. Travelers would also face new biographical questions about family members, as well as an expanded biometric collection encompassing facial recognition, fingerprints, iris scans, and DNA.
DHS says these changes reflect updated federal guidelines on biographic-data practices released in April and are intended to improve the accuracy and reliability of identity verification across the travel system.
In another substantial shift, CBP is considering discontinuing the ESTA website altogether, directing applicants instead to a mobile-app-only submission process. With more than 14 million ESTA applications processed each year, officials estimate that both the additional data requirements and the change in submission method could increase the time and effort needed for compliance.
The public will have 60 days to submit comments once the proposal is formally published. If ultimately adopted, the package of updates would amount to one of the most comprehensive expansions of digital-identity and social-media screening in the history of U.S. immigration policy.