Posted on December 15, 2021
Don’t lose your photos and data. Here’s how to easily backup your phone
We all know it’s important to back up our devices. No one wants to lose years of photos, contacts, emails and all our other important data.
Unfortunately, accidents happen — we see it all the time — and years of memories and other data can become irretrievably lost. But who has the time to backup an entire phone?
Luckily, keeping your iPhone or Android device backed up is easier than ever before. So if you have a couple minutes of downtime over the holidays (yes, that’s all it takes!), check out our quick guide on how to easily backup your phone to the cloud.
Backing up your iPhone
There are a number of ways to backup your iPhone to safeguard your data, including over the internet to a cloud service or directly to your computer. The easiest method, by far, is backing up your device to Apple’s iCloud service.
Backing up your iOS device to iCloud
If you have an iPhone, iPad or other iOS device, Apple recommends using their iCloud service to backup your device. You probably already have an iCloud account, but if you’re not sure, visit this help article from Apple.
All iCloud accounts come with 5GB free data storage, although if you have a lot of photos, saved music or other data that exceed this limit, you may need to purchase more storage.
Backup iPhone manually
- Connect your phone to a WiFi network.
- On your iOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup
- Tap on Back Up Now.
Backup iPhone automatically
Alternatively, you can set your device to backup your data every day automatically when your phone is plugged into a power source and connected to a WiFi network.
- Plug in your phone and connect to WiFi.
- Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup
- Toggle the switch next to “iCloud Backup”
- Ensure your screen is locked.
Backing up your Android device
Backing up an Android phone got a lot easier this year, when Google rolled out its “Backup by Google One” cloud service, which makes it more streamlined to backup your important photos, documents and other data. Alternatively, you can backup your data directly to your other Google services, like photos and data, automatically.
Backup your Android with Google One
This summer, Google rolled out its “Backup by Google One” service, which is a unified way to backup your device all in one place, which replaces Android’s older backup tool. It allows you to backup all your data in one place, making it easier to restore your data if you lose or break your device. A quick reminder that all Google accounts include 15GB of free storage, so you may need to buy more storage if you exceed that limit to use this service (see plans here). Here’s how to get started:
- Download and install the Google One app.
- Open the Google One app > Back up device data > Set up data back up
- Choose Back up now, or choose Backup settings which can help you turn on automatic backups.
Alternatively, you can continue backing up your photos and other data within the different apps on your device:
Backup your photos and videos to Google Photos
- If you haven’t already, download the Google Photos app to your Android device.
- Open the Google Photos app and sign-in to your account if prompted.
- Tap your photo or initial in the top right.
- Select Photos settings > Back up & sync.
- Tap “Back up & sync” on or off.
Backup other data to Google Drive
- If you haven’t already, download the Google Drive app to your Android device.
- Open the Google Drive app and tap on the “+” button
- Tap Upload
- Then, select the files to backup
Backup your apps and settings
- Open your device’s Settings app
- Scroll down and tap “system” or “accounts and backup”
- Tap on ‘Backup and restore”
- Toggle on “Back up my data” and add your account
Posted on December 13, 2021
4 meaningful ways to celebrate the holidays this year
The holidays are a time for merriment, family, friends and giving. Yet, as we all face another challenging holiday season, it can be an especially hard time for many families in our communities.
Luckily, there are a lot of great ways to feel the holiday spirit and help our neighbors, especially if you are opting for a scaled back get-together or don’t celebrate at all. You can donate your time to a worthy cause, chip in a few dollars to your favorite charity, or even convince that last hold out in your family to get their booster shot.
If you’re still looking for a few meaningful ways to enjoy the holidays this year, we compiled a quick list of ideas for you to consider. Enjoy!
Volunteer at a food bank
Many of us have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, yet too many families will find themselves at a food bank in search of a holiday meal. Last year, the number of people facing hunger rose to 38 million, including nearly 12 million children.
That’s why during the Thanksgiving holiday CREDO donated 250,000 meals through our partnership with Feeding America as our very small way of giving back.
This year, consider donating your time to a local food bank to help make a difference for families struggling with hunger this holiday season. Our partners at Feeding America have some great tips to help you get started during this popular time of year to give back to your community.
Accompany a loved one to a vaccination appointment
As the pandemic persists, public health officials continue to offer caution regarding gathering for the holidays, and urge people to assess their own risk factors based on personal circumstances.
One point, however, is very clear: vaccines are important to protect yourself and your loved ones and recommended for people attending holiday gatherings. The CDC continues to recommend that everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated to do so, and anyone who is eligible to receive a booster shot, to make an appointment.
But you may know a loved one who has yet to be vaccinated, for any number of reasons. The holidays could be a great time to have a conversation with them about it. Here are some tips from UCLA and UNICEF about how to approach these kinds of conversations.
Or you may know an older relative or neighbor who still hasn’t received their booster. Consider asking them if they need help making an appointment or if they need a lift or would like some company when they go.
Donate to your favorite causes
The holidays are a time for giving, including to our favorite causes. Here at CREDO, we understand the importance of giving back to our communities by donating every month to causes that empower climate justice, civil rights and economic justice.
During the holidays, many people spread the holiday cheer to their favorite charities and non-profits with year-end giving. If you’re ever looking for an organization to give to, CREDO has vetted and donated to hundreds of organizations that work on the frontlines of climate justice, economic equality, voting rights, reproductive justice, peace and much more.
Visit https://www.credodonations.com/organizations/ to see all the organizations our members have helped us fund. If you’re a CREDO customer, you have likely helped to fund many of these organizations just by using our products everyday!
Vote to help distribute CREDO’s December donation
Speaking of CREDO’s grantees, here’s a quick way to make a difference this holiday season: Vote right now to help us distribute our monthly donation among three amazing progressive groups.
This month, you can help fund climate justice, women’s rights and voting rights by casting your vote for Carbon 180, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Vote.org. It’s quick and easy and you’ll do your part to help these great groups. Just visit CREDODonations.com and cast your ballot today!
And as always, CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month — at no extra cost to our customers.
Posted on December 8, 2021
The Top 10 CREDO Tips of 2021
It’s December, so it’s that time of year to reflect on the last 12 months — and what better way than with a Top 10 List!
Throughout the year, we sent you helpful articles to learn more about your phone and ensure it’s running in tip-top shape, along with some tips on travel, shopping and enjoying the great outdoors.
So if you missed our wildly popular tips on stopping annoying robocalls and spam texts, extending your phone’s battery life, or how to securely store all your passwords, you’re in luck.
We present to you the Top 10 CREDO Tips of 2021.
10) How to turn off annoying notifications on your smartphone
If you’re like us, your smartphone gets filled up with pop-up notifications daily. Many of them are not just annoying; they can be downright overwhelming, distracting and even bad for our mental health. Here are some quick tips to manage or stop those annoying notifications on your smartphone. [Read more]
9) How to unlock your phone with Face ID while wearing a mask
We all know that face masks are critical to help slow the spread of COVID-19, but it seems impossible to unlock our phones in public using facial recognition while wearing our masks. In this tip, we’ll show you how to unlock your iPhone or Android device while wearing a face mask using facial recognition or Face ID. [Read more]
8) How to magnify your smartphone’s screen to make reading easier
Do you ever have to squint to see the fine print on your smartphone? Fortunately, there are some useful solutions to help you to easily magnify your smartphone’s screen to make seeing it much easier. In this tip, we’ll show you how to access these features in your phone’s accessibility settings to avoid headaches and make your screen more readable. [Read more]
7) Here’s why you need to start using a password manager — and how you can get started
It’s tough to remember all our passwords, but if you’re not using unique and complex passwords on every site, you’re making it easy for hackers or criminals to compromise your sensitive information. A password manager can help. Here’s a quick guide on how to get started using a password manager to help secure your online accounts. [Read more]
6) 8 easy ways to extend your phone’s battery life
If your smartphone is a little older, you know what it’s like when your battery dies unexpectedly, but a draining battery is not usually your fault. Luckily, there are some easy ways to preserve and extend the battery life of your smartphone. Here are 8 tips to keep your phone running a little longer. [Read more]
5) How to quickly scan documents right from your mobile phone
Whether you’re applying for a new apartment or loan, or saving old recipes or receipts, at some point you’ve probably needed to scan a document or two. Here’s a quick tip on how to scan documents from your phone without the need for a scanner or all-in-one printer. [Read more]
4) How to store your vaccine record on your smartphone
If you’re like us, you got vaccinated. That’s great! But now what do you do with that awkwardly-sized piece of paper you might need to travel or enter a restaurant? Never fear: The safest and easiest way to save your vaccination record is storing it on your smartphone. Here’s how. [Read more]
3) How to stop annoying and dangerous spam text messages
The number of spam texts sent to phones across the country is skyrocketing. Scammers are on track to send a whopping 86 billion spam texts this year, with a projected financial loss of $101 million to consumers. With a little bit of preparation, savvy and trusting your instincts, you can do your part to stop these spam texts and protect yourself from scammers. [Read more]
2) How to Block Annoying Robocalls and Spam Calls on Your Phone
We hate robocalls, and we know you do too. In 2020 alone, the average American received more than 28 spams calls per month, a big increase over the year before. Here are some simple steps you can take to slow the onslaught of spam calls hitting you every day. [Read more]
1) How to keep your apps from draining your phone’s battery
It’s frustrating when the battery in your phone dies unexpectedly — but there are a number of ways to keep your phone’s power from draining too fast. In our most popular tip of the year, learn how to prevent your apps from draining your phone’s battery and keep your device running longer. [Read more]
Posted on December 7, 2021
Combating Threats and Expanding Access: What’s at Stake for Reproductive Freedom
This is the most pivotal moment in decades in the fight for reproductive freedom, and NARAL Pro-Choice America and our 2.5 million members in all 50 states are ready to meet it. We work each day to organize and mobilize for access to abortion care and birth control, paid parental leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination. We’re working toward a future where each of us—no matter who we are, where we live, or what we believe—has the freedom to make our own decisions about whether to start or grow a family, and where those decisions are treated with respect and dignity. 
Since 1969, our member-driven campaigns have propelled political and cultural change at every level, from statehouses to the White House. Our members were critical to electing reproductive freedom champions in 2020, with 132 NARAL-endorsed candidates winning their seats. We leveraged those historic wins in 2021 to help expand access in states such as California and Nevada, and to support House passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA)—historic legislation that would safeguard the federal right to abortion. And we leveraged the election of President Biden and Vice President Harris to engage our members in support of access to medication abortion care by urging the Food and Drug Administration to temporarily suspend in-person dispensing requirements on medication abortion care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to undertake an evaluation of all the medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion.
All of this progress happened in no small part because of the support of CREDO members like you.
While we celebrate the wins of the past year, we can’t afford to stop mobilizing for our freedoms. The anti-choice supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—a case about Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe v. Wade. If the Court were to overturn Roe tomorrow, 26 states would likely take action to prohibit abortion outright. Twelve states already have “trigger bans” in place, which would ban abortion automatically if Roe is overturned.
And in 2021, anti-choice state lawmakers across the country enacted 106 restrictions on abortion access—more attacks in any year since Roe was decided. This includes draconian measures like Texas’ SB 8, which not only outlaws abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy, before many people even know they’re pregnant, but which also breeds vigilantism and encourages individuals to take legal action against anyone who helps someone access abortion care in the state.
The threats to reproductive freedom are coming from every angle. In the face of these threats, NARAL has a bold and ambitious agenda for the future. We are leveraging all of our resources to stop the torrent of bans and restrictions from anti-choice lawmakers in states across the country—while also advancing proactive policies. We’re pushing for policies that would advance reproductive freedom and abortion accesss for every body—no matter who they are, where they live, or how much they make. This includes working at the federal level to pass WHPA through the U.S. Senate and ensuring that the president’s budget robustly funds programs that support reproductive freedom and excludes restrictions on abortion, including discriminatory coverage bans.
Realizing a future where reproductive freedom is truly for every body means creating lasting change in our culture and our communities. That’s why we work every day to:
- Combat anti-choice disinformation and amplify accurate facts about abortion.
- Train NARAL members across the country to run their own Action Councils, organizing in their local communities and beyond to advance reproductive freedom.
- Collaborate, striving to be good allies to and work with our partners to maximize impact.
- Be intentional and transparent in our efforts to dismantle systemic racism and hold ourselves accountable in centering diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in our organization and our work.
But that’s not where NARAL’s work ends. We recognize that 2022 is critical to our futures—for reproductive freedom and for democracy. Democrats only have control of Congress by a razor-thin margin as we head into the midterm election cycle. So NARAL and our 2.5 million members are working to elect reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot—champions who don’t just agree with the 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion, but truly fight for it—and hold accountable lawmakers who put reproductive freedom on the line. 
As abortion rights and access face an existential crisis, we must take bold action to secure reproductive freedom for every body. NARAL and our members were made for this moment—and we won’t back down when our rights are on the line.
Posted on December 7, 2021
With CREDO funding, Transgender Law Center continues the fight for liberation
The Transgender Law Center is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for our rights.
In April, CREDO members voted to distribute $43,530 to TLC, and the organization has since secured important progress and victories for transgender and gender nonconforming people, including supporting TLC’s general operations including impact litigation and legal support; organizing and movement building; and policy advocacy, public education, and narrative change work.
Here are some highlights of the organization’s recent work that was supported in part by CREDO members:
- Continued work on TLC’s guiding framework, the Trans Agenda for Liberation;
- Trans youth organizing and speaking out against anti-trans youth legislations;
- Continued impact litigation with wins for trans inclusive healthcare;
- Working with journalists to more accurately and effectively cover trans issues, including anti-trans medical bans and athletic bans.
To learn more, take a moment to watch two great videos highlighting TLC’s recent work, including a 2021 overview “We are transforming the world. Join us” and “Gender Justice Leadership Programs: Show Up For Trans Youth”
If you’d like to get involved with TLC, please visit their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Posted on December 7, 2021
Carbon180 is helping pull CO2 from the sky
To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to both rapidly reduce emissions and remove the carbon that has been accumulating in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. But it doesn’t end there — we can use that carbon to enrich our lands, catalyze new industries, and foster prosperity for all.
A Suite of Solutions
Carbon removal is a suite of practices and technologies that pull carbon from the atmosphere. This includes land-based pathways, such as soil carbon sequestration, and tech-based pathways, such as DAC (or direct air capture). There are also hybrid solutions that draw on the carbon-removing potential of both land and technology, such as BECCS (or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage).
A variety of solutions means a variety of benefits. For example, CO2 sequestered in soils makes for healthier and more resilient farmland, increasing crop yields and reducing the need for fertilizer. Carbon removed with DAC machines can be transformed into carbontech products like fuels, chemicals, building materials, and even carpet.
Carbon Removal on the Rise
Since 2015, Carbon180 has been at the forefront of a rapidly evolving carbon removal landscape, advocating for a once obscure climate solution that is now considered a critical piece of climate action. In 2018, we moved our HQ from California’s East Bay to Washington, DC to dedicate our work to federal policy change. Today, we partner with policymakers, scientists, and businesses to develop and advocate for carbon removal legislation grounded in environmental justice and the latest science.
Federal funding for carbon removal has increased from a few million when we were founded six years ago to hundreds of millions today. These funds go towards research, demonstration, and deployment to scale the full suite of carbon removal solutions.
We’re in Business
Today, there are a number of companies both investing in carbon removal and working to develop these solutions. Stripe made its first carbon removal investment of $1 million in May 2020, and a year later committed $8 million to six carbon removal companies. In September 2020, Shopify announced their Sustainability Fund, investment portfolios in groundbreaking carbon removal efforts for the short and long term. Microsoft committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and, by 2050, remove all of their historical emissions since their founding in 1975. Part of their approach is using their platform to support policy initiatives that accelerate carbon removal and emissions reductions.
Alongside businesses investing in carbon removal, there are many new companies innovating across the spectrum of solutions. Climeworks and Heirloom are committed to evolving direct air capture for permanent, affordable removal. Climeworks just unveiled the world’s largest DAC facility in Iceland, while Heirloom is setting mineralization in motion to remove 1 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2035. Mineralization has great potential in terms of scalability and cost-effectiveness — the CO2 that Heirloom extracts via DAC chemically reacts with naturally occurring material to create a mineral that permanently stores carbon.
A Carbon-Removing Future
Robust policies that support a full portfolio of carbon removal solutions are necessary to actualize our vision of an equitable and sustainable carbon-removing future. Climate change is here, and BIPOC, low-income, and other frontline communities are experiencing disproportionate impacts. As we scale carbon removal, it’s paramount that we equitably distribute benefits, engage with communities, and thoroughly analyze socioeconomic impacts. Carbon removal is a necessary component of climate action, but it’s critical that scaling these solutions is done right — dismantling instead of contributing to existing inequities.
The Carbon180 blog and Twitter post regular updates on all sorts of happenings in the carbon removal field. You can also check out our website to learn more about carbon removal and subscribe to our weekly and bimonthly newsletters.
Posted on December 7, 2021
Vote.org is registering voters and getting out the vote
Vote.org is the leading voter registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) platform in America. We use technology to simplify political engagement and increase voter turnout, helping historically excluded voters by addressing the barriers that make it difficult for them to participate.
Despite all the obstacles American voters faced in 2020 — a global pandemic, rampant disinformation, shortages of polling locations and poll workers, long lines, postal service delays, and extreme weather — people across the country turned out in record numbers with nearly 160 million ballots counted.
But this didn’t happen by magic. Over the course of the year Vote.org ran the largest voter mobilization program in our history, making more than 650 million voter contacts among historically excluded voters. Millions more used Vote.org’s digital tools to register, verify their registration, request an absentee ballot, find their polling location and more, resulting in the highest voter turnout in 120 years.
While we are proud of our work in 2020, we also know that there’s no such thing as an “off” election year. Throughout 2021 politicians across the country have pushed for legislation that makes it harder for their fellow Americans to vote. These restrictions on early voting, voting by mail, voter registration and more have been designed to silence Black voters, young voters, and working voters who can’t take time off to stand in hours-long lines on Election Day.
Our work to remove barriers to voting and increase voter turnout is now more critical than ever. In less than a year voters will make their voices heard as they elect governors, senators, members of Congress, and other local elected leaders. Vote.org has a big plan to register and turn out voters for these elections in a big way, and with our freedom to vote itself at stake, as well as our democracy, this work is more critical than ever.
With enough support, Vote.org will be able to deploy this plan — crafted using proven tactics and modes based on data-driven election research and culturally competent messaging — ahead of the 2022 elections, including:
- Utilizing voter data to grow our Election Reminder program, which sends state-specific, up-to-date election information to voters across the country. For the 2020 General Election alone, we sent more than 41 million election reminders. In 2022, we plan to continue this program at scale.
- Investing early in billboards, digital advertising, text messaging, radio and Spotify advertising, and campus advertising to meet voters where they are with the critical information they need to vote.
- Deploying food trucks with Election Protection information to provide access to free food and water for voters stuck in long lines at the polls, making it safer and more comfortable for voters to stay in line and exercise the right to vote.
- Thoroughly saturating all cost-effective media channels with a message to VOTE on or before Election Day.
As Vote.org’s work in 2020 showed , reaching voters with these messages is key to a thriving democracy. We rely on your support to get voters the tools and information they need to register to vote and cast their ballot, no matter what. I hope you’ll continue to invest in our work — and in a more equitable and accessible American democracy.
You can read more at impact.vote.org, and watch our 90-second Vote.org primer video here:
Posted on December 7, 2021
Zinn Education Project continues teaching the “People’s History,” thanks to CREDO members
The Zinn Education Project (ZEP) introduces students to a more accurate and engaging understanding of history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. The project (coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change) equips students with analytical tools to make sense of and improve the world today.
In May, CREDO members voted to distribute $51,675 to ZEP to help the group engage more teachers in its Teach Climate Justice, Teach Reconstruction, and Teaching for Black Lives campaigns — and help them offer students a more honest history of our country.
CREDO also partnered with ZEP to conduct an informal survey asking about our members’ experiences learning Black history in school and how that informs their views about systemic racism, voter suppression and white supremacy. You can check out the results of this survey here, which included input from more than 5,000 CREDO members.
Here’s a quick highlight of how CREDO funding is helping the Zinn Education Project further its mission: 
Lawmakers in at least 28 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history. In response, educators across the United States are signing a pledge to teach truth, and thanks to CREDO support, ZEP mobilized and supported teachers and allies across the country with Teach Truth Pledge Days of Action in June and August, events to raise public awareness about these dangerous bills. These events were held in dozens of cities across the country and received widespread press coverage, including in The Washington Post, Mother Jones, Axios and Mashable.
If you’d like to learn more and get involved with ZEP, please visit their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Posted on December 5, 2021
Our November grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups working for human rights, climate justice and workers’ rights. In November, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Amnesty International, Earthworks and National Domestic Workers Alliance.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our November grant recipients thank you.
Amnesty International
$50,232
“Thank you for your continued partnership! CREDO members like you help support Amnesty International’s mission to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of human rights. Together we can create a world in which every person enjoys the full range of their human rights.”
To learn more, visit https://www.amnestyusa.org.
Earthworks
$52,627
“Thank you! You are standing in solidarity with activists fighting fossil fuels and dirty mining. You are advancing policies to reduce climate super pollutants like methane and promoting the use of sustainable minerals in clean energy technologies.” – Jennifer Krill, Executive Director, Earthworks
To learn more, visit www.earthworks.org.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
$47,141
“Thank you! Support from CREDO members like you helps us to advocate for the rights of the domestic workers who do the essential work of caring for our loved ones and our homes and to transform the way care work is understood, valued, and compensated.” – Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
To learn more, visit http://domesticworkers.org/.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in December, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on December 1, 2021
How to travel safely and (mostly) stress-free this holiday season
This holiday season, people are on the move, eager to travel to see friends and family and make this year look more like 2019 than our pandemic holiday season last year.
Travel sites are seeing spikes in traffic and bookings, and AAA predicts that more than 53 million people will travel over the holidays, the biggest one-year increase since 2005. That also means crowded airports, standstill traffic and frustrating delays.
Yet, unlike 2019, we’re still coping with a lingering pandemic, with new variants on the way, and that’s making traveling a bit harder and more stressful. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered with some helpful tips to make your trip safer and maybe even help reduce our anxiety a little bit on the way.
Continue to take pandemic precautions
First things first: Masks, social distancing and hand hygiene continue to play an important role to keep you and those around you safe and healthy
Masks covering your mouth and nose continue to be required on public transportation, like planes, busses and subways, for most people and circumstances, regardless of vaccination status — so be sure to pack extra for your trip. The Centers for Disease Control have a number of recommendations and suggestions for what kinds of masks you should buy and how they should properly fit. Consider wearing high quality masks like N95, KN95 and KF94 when you’re in crowded indoor areas where you do not know others’ vaccination statuses.
And speaking of vaccines, the CDC recommends that unvaccinated people should delay travel until they are fully vaccinated, not to travel if they are sick or have been exposed to COVID-19, and if not vaccinated, to get tested before and after traveling.
If you are traveling internationally, you must check whether or not the country you enter requires proof of vaccination or a negative test. Right now, we are not aware of any location that requires a booster shot (but if you are able to get one, it’s a very good idea.)
Store your vaccine record on your phone
Depending on where you are traveling, you may need to show proof of vaccination during your travels, at a port of entry, or to enter a food or entertainment establishment. The easiest way to prove your status is by showing the physical copy of your vaccination record, but there’s a chance you could lose or damage that precious card during your travels.
There are a lot of alternatives to carrying the paper record with you, and most of those involve — you guessed it — your smartphone. You can take a photo of the card or use an app or smartphone wallet that stores your digital vaccine record. We highlighted a few ways in a recent post on how to store your vaccine record on your smartphone.
Be honest with yourself, family and friends
We all have different levels of risk tolerance when it comes to the pandemic, and it’s important to communicate those to the loved ones you’re visiting long before you begin your travel, to avoid last minute stress and confusion and ensure everyone is comfortable and feels safe.
Questions that you can ask yourself and your loved ones include:
- Should everyone be vaccinated and/or tested prior to your gatherings?
- Will anyone quarantine before the visit?
- Will people feel comfortable indoors without masks?
- Will anyone who is too young to be immunized or immunocompromised be present? If so, how will you ensure their safety?
- What are the parameters of the gathering, like how many people will be present, how long will it be indoors, and will everyone agree to the rules you set?
The CDC published some guidance on safer ways to celebrate the holidays, which includes some suggestions on avoiding large crowds, moving large gatherings outdoors, if possible, and other considerations.
Reduce travel stress and anxiety
Traveling during normal times was already stressful — and it’s much more so today — so taking a moment to reduce your anxiety can really help make a difference. When things get a little overwhelming, it might be time to step back, take a break and manage our own stress and anxiety levels.
Check out this list we recently curated suggesting some apps to help you manage stress and anxiety.
