The One Thing You Should Never Do With Your Boarding Pass

You’re at the gate. You’ve got your boarding pass. You’re heading somewhere exciting and you just can’t wait until you get there to share the news with your friends on social media. So you snap a picture of your boarding pass and post it to Facebook. Harmless, right?

Maybe not.

Because the information printed on your boarding pass actually reveals a lot more than you think.

Boarding Pass Don’ts

As explained by KrebsonSecurity, there are websites that can read the barcodes on your boarding pass and provide someone else access to your travel information—your phone number, frequent flyer number, and information not only about the flight in question but also all future flights booked through the same number.

With access to your boarding pass, someone could even change your seat on the plane, cancel any future flights, and reset your account PIN.

You may love your friends, but would you trust everyone you know on Facebook or Instagram with your private travel information? Didn’t think so.

The takeaway here: Don’t post pictures of your boarding pass on social media.

More from SmarterTravel:

• 7 Reasons You Smell Bad When Traveling
• Your 11 Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions—Answered
• 10 Ways to Survive a Long-Haul Flight

Jamie Ditaranto is a writer and photographer who is always looking for her next adventure. Follow her on Twitter @jamieditaranto.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2015. It has been updated to reflect the most current information.