Why charging your iPhone with a stranger's cable is risky

Forgot your iPhone cable at home? Most likely, you would not hesitate to connect to someone else's charger or the nearest public charging station. But could such a small thing cause problems for your personal data?

SlashGear writes about it.

Is it safe to charge with someone else's charging cable?

The struggle with a "dead" battery sometimes pushes us to use other people's cables or USB ports available in coffee shops. In recent years, there have been many warnings that a seemingly ordinary cable can "drain" the entire contents of a smartphone. Among the most popular examples is the video by influencer Ryan Montgomery on Instagram, where the malicious cable connected to the computer instantly downloads data from the iPhone.

However, experts emphasize that such a scenario is unlikely for most users. Firstly, there have been no officially recorded cases of juice jacking in public places. Secondly, modern iPhones have several levels of protection. As soon as the device recognises a USB port that can transfer data, a prompt appears on the screen asking "Trust this computer?" Until you press "Yes", charging will not start, and access to the file system will be blocked. Most public stations are designed for power only, so the chance of encountering a compromised port is almost zero.

To turn a regular charging station into a hacking tool, an attacker would have to completely disassemble it and install additional equipment — a costly and risky endeavour. So, if you use cables from trusted brands, pay close attention to system warnings, and avoid suspicious devices, your data will remain safe.

As a reminder, most users only have one Apple ID on their iPhone because, without it, the App Store and iCloud synchronization won't work. However, Apple allows you to add a second account — for example, to separate personal and work purchases — but with certain limitations.

We also wrote that the iPhone battery gradually wears out, and new features such as Apple Intelligence can reduce its life even faster. To save battery life, it is worth paying attention to the settings and changing some habits when using the device.