What to check after you gave your unlocked phone to a stranger

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Their battery was dead, they needed to call someone, and you handed over your unlocked phone. Now you're wondering what they could have done in that minute. Most of it you can check yourself in a few minutes: your bank, your call log, your recent apps and your accounts.

Quick answer

Check your banking apps for payments you don't recognise, and contact your bank straight away if you see any. Then look at your call log, your recent apps, call forwarding, and the devices signed in to your Apple or Google account. Report fraud to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Next time, use Guided Access or app pinning.

What could someone do with your unlocked phone?

An unlocked phone gives whoever holds it the same access you have. Apple's Personal Safety guide says that if you share a device, others can view and make changes to the information on it and your Apple Account. Get Safe Online lists loss or theft of your device among the risks of mobile banking, because it could provide easy access to bank accounts.

That doesn't mean anything happened. Check money first, then calls, then accounts.

What should you check first?

Your money. Get Safe Online says that if you're the victim of an actual or attempted fraud, contact your bank immediately.

  1. Open each banking and payment app and look at recent transactions and payees.
  2. If you see anything you don't recognise, contact your bank straight away.
  3. Report it to Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025, at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.
  4. Going forward, Get Safe Online advises always logging out of your banking app when you've finished, because closing the app may not be enough, and turning on text alerts for every transaction.

How do you check who they called?

Look at your call history. It shows calls made, answered and missed, so you can see the number they dialled. Bear in mind Apple and Google both let you delete calls from the history, so an empty list isn't proof. Apple says your network provider may have more information about deleted calls.

On iPhone:

  1. Open the Phone app.
  2. Look at your recent calls, and tap a call or contact for details.

On Android (Phone by Google):

  1. Open the Phone app.
  2. In the Home tab, look for calls you made (outgoing).

Did they change your call or message forwarding?

On iPhone, it's worth a look. Apple's Personal Safety guide explains how to check whether your calls are being forwarded to another number and whether your text messages are being shared with other devices.

  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Forwarding. If the switch is green, calls are forwarded, and you'll see the number. Turn it off if you didn't set it.
  2. Go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Text Message Forwarding, and turn off any device you don't recognise.

Apple says that if you don't see Call Forwarding, it isn't available on your iPhone and your network provider can tell you more.

What do your recent apps show?

The app switcher shows your open apps. It's a quick way to see whether they went anywhere other than the phone app.

  1. iPhone with Face ID: swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the centre. With a Home button, double-click the Home button.
  2. Android: swipe up from the bottom, hold, then let go.
  3. Swipe through and look for anything you didn't open, such as banking, email or photos.

Our guide on how to tell if someone has been on your phone covers notifications and deleted photos too.

Are your Apple and Google accounts still yours?

Check which devices are signed in. Apple says devices signed in to your Apple Account can be used to change your password and receive two-factor authentication codes, so any you don't recognise should go.

  1. iPhone: Settings > your name, then scroll down to the device list. Tap any device you don't recognise and choose Remove from Account.
  2. Google: go to your Google Account, tap Security & sign-in, then Manage all devices on the Your devices panel. Sign out of any session you don't recognise.

If they kept the phone or ran off with it, follow what to do if your phone is stolen instead. If they watched you type your passcode, see what to do if someone watched you type your passcode.

How can you lend your phone safely next time?

Lock the phone to one app before you hand it over. The person then needs your code to leave it.

On iPhone, use Guided Access, which Apple says temporarily restricts your device to a single app:

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access and turn it on.
  2. Tap Passcode Settings and set a Guided Access passcode, or use Face ID or Touch ID.
  3. Open the Phone app, triple-click the side button (or Home button), then tap Start.
  4. To end it, triple-click again, authenticate, and tap End. Apple notes Emergency Services aren't available during a session.

On Android, use app pinning. Google gives this exact example: pin an app and hand your phone to a friend, and they can use only that app.

  1. Open Settings and tap Security > Advanced > App pinning (or Security and location), and turn it on.
  2. Open the Phone app, swipe up to the middle of the screen and hold to open Overview.
  3. Tap the app's icon at the top, then tap Pin.

Google says that with app pinning on, your PIN, pattern or password is needed to unpin.

Where Failshot fits

Failshot doesn't help when you hand over an unlocked phone, and it doesn't detect anything someone did with it. It photographs whoever unlocks your phone while Failshot is on, and the camera light shows whenever it takes a photo. That's for the other moment: when the phone is out of your hands and locked.

On iPhone, Apple doesn't let any app see the Lock Screen or use the camera in the background, so you turn Failshot on and lock the phone, and whoever unlocks it lands in Failshot and is photographed. It doesn't photograph a wrong passcode at the iPhone Lock Screen. On Android, it also photographs a wrong PIN, pattern or password at the real lock screen.

Switching it off needs Face ID, your fingerprint or face on Android, or your own Failshot PIN plus your answer, never the phone's passcode. Photos stay on your phone, with optional email alerts. Failshot is for your own device only, and it's coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Questions people also ask

Is "can I borrow your phone" a scam?

You can't tell from the request alone, and many people genuinely need a call. But an unlocked phone gives the holder the same access you have. Lock the phone to the Phone app with Guided Access on iPhone or app pinning on Android before handing it over.

What should I do if money has gone from my account?

Contact your bank immediately. Get Safe Online gives that as the first step if you're the victim of an actual or attempted fraud. Then report it to Report Fraud, the national reporting service, at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.

Can someone delete the call they made on my phone?

Yes. Both iPhone and Android let you delete calls from the call history. Apple says your network provider may have more information about deleted calls, so ask them if the record matters, for example for a fraud report.

Can someone set up call forwarding on my phone?

On iPhone, call forwarding is in Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Forwarding, and anyone using your unlocked phone can reach it. Check that it's off. Apple also says iPhone blocks links in messages and apps that ask you to turn call forwarding on, because scammers use them.

What is Guided Access on iPhone?

Guided Access is an accessibility setting that, Apple says, temporarily restricts your iPhone to a single app. Turn it on in Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access, open the app, then triple-click the side button. Your Guided Access passcode, Face ID or Touch ID ends the session.

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