Phone SeizedUnited KingdomThe Crime and Policing Act 2026: online accounts on a seized phone
The Crime and Policing Act 2026: online accounts on a seized phone
What you must do, what you can refuse, and what they can do
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
What they can do
A power the law gives them over you or your device.
Once in force, a senior officer will be able to authorise an enforcement officer to extract information accessible through an online account that was accessed from a device before it was seized.
Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.173(1) — NOT YET IN FORCE
“Where an electronic device has been lawfully seized, a senior officer may authorise an enforcement officer to extract information accessible by means of one or more online accounts which were accessed by means of the device before it was seized.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
Once in force, a parallel version inserted into Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 (port and border controls) will apply to a device detained after being searched or found on a search, or examined: a relevant senior officer will be able to authorise a constable to extract information accessible by means of one or more online accounts that were accessed by means of the device before that search or examination began.
Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.178 — Terrorism Act 2000 Sch.7 para 11B(2) (inserted) — NOT YET IN FORCE
“In Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 (port and border controls), after paragraph 11A insert— This paragraph applies where an electronic device is detained under paragraph 11 after having been— searched or found on a search under paragraph 8, or— examined under paragraph 9.— A relevant senior officer may authorise a constable to extract information accessible by means of one or more online accounts which were accessed by means of the device before the search or examination began.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-09
Limits on them
A rule that constrains them, or a remedy you can use.
A senior officer will only be able to give that authorisation where satisfied there are reasonable grounds to believe it is not reasonably practicable to get the information by other means.
Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.173(2)(b) — NOT YET IN FORCE
“A senior officer may give an authorisation under subsection (1) only if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that— it is not reasonably practicable to obtain that information by other means.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
Information extracted under this future power will be retainable only for as long as is necessary in all the circumstances.
Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.174(4) — NOT YET IN FORCE
“Any information which has been extracted under an authorisation under section 173 may be retained for so long as is necessary in all the circumstances”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
The Secretary of State will be required to prepare a code of practice on how the new authorisation power is used.
Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.177(1)(a) — NOT YET IN FORCE
“The Secretary of State must prepare a code of practice about— the exercise of the power to give an authorisation under section 173”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
The Act comes into force on a day the Secretary of State appoints by regulations, subject to the provisions that set their own commencement.
Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.255(1) (default commencement — ss.173-180 not separately listed)
“Subject as follows, this Act comes into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
Not yet the law — but coming
Part 11 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (sections 173 to 180) creates a new power to extract information from online accounts — not just what is stored on the device itself, but accounts the device was used to access before it was seized. As of today, none of it is in force. Section 255(1) provides that, subject to the provisions it goes on to list, the Act comes into force only on a day the Secretary of State appoints by regulations.
Sections 173 to 180 are not among the provisions s.255 lists with their own fixed commencement date — checked directly against s.255(2), (3) and (7)-(10) on 2026-09-08 — so they fall under that general, regulations-only rule and await a commencement decision that has not yet been made.
What the new power will actually allow
Once switched on, a senior officer will be able to authorise an enforcement officer to extract information accessible through one or more online accounts that were accessed by means of a device before that device was seized — think a cloud photo library, a messaging account synced to the phone, or webmail, rather than just what is stored locally. The authorisation will not be automatic: a senior officer will only be able to give it where satisfied there are reasonable grounds to believe it is not reasonably practicable to get that information by other means.
The same retention test, extended
Information extracted under this future power will be retainable only for as long as is necessary in all the circumstances — the same standard already used for physical seizure under PACE, carried across into this new regime rather than replaced with something looser.
A ports and borders version, and a code to come
A parallel version of the power will apply at the border: a senior officer will be able to authorise a constable to extract online-account information accessible from a device examined under Schedule 7, where the account was accessed by means of the device before the examination began. The Secretary of State will also be required to prepare a code of practice covering how the new authorisation power is used, before any of this becomes operational.
Last reviewed 2026-09-08. Next review due 2026-12-08. No lawyer has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.