> If your devices are seized having encrypted data can pose extra risk.
I don’t think you can even set up an iPhone anymore without encryption. It’s just “on”, not even “on by default”.
> My home servers aren't encrypted and I see no reason to do so. Sensitive data is encrypted based on the sensitivity.
If you do sensitive work, you should be concerned about someone breaking in and running off with your storage. It’s unfortunate but that’s just how it is. Encryption adds very little overhead on modern hardware.
> If you are on a demonstration and need to broadcast status live then you don't have a luxury of bringing in a blank phone and restoring backup before each transmission
That’s not crossing a border then, is it? The case under discussion was about a border crossing, where (apparently?) Constitutional rights are suspended. A used phone adds little to the cost of an international trip.
No you just chose to ignore other cases that OP mentioned and focused on this one
A protest is a completely different situation. In that situation I’d recommend a burner phone that you can afford to lose or throw away. Ideally the cheapest one available. And never log in to your primary accounts on it.