“The next day, I was super paranoid and decided to check my security<\/a> settings,” they wrote. “[Turns] out I had the default setting, which allows USB<\/a> accessory connection when phone is unlocked.<\/p>\n “When I changed it to ‘always ask’ and plugged the phone back for a test, I got a message asking me if I want to connect to this USB accessory.<\/p>\n “So, basically I unknowingly allowed my phone<\/a> to connect to this device overnight the day before.”<\/p>\n Commenters on the post reassured the original poster (OP) a bit.<\/p>\n “Keep in mind that the prompt ‘allow accessory to connect’ (USB host mode) is different from the prompt ‘Trust this computer<\/a>?’ (USB client mode). Only the latter allows access to all files,” one commenter wrote.<\/p>\n “While in theory a USB accessory can still manipulate some parts of the system and be very problematic (e.g. a keyboard emulator), it\u2019s still a bit safer than raw data<\/a> access in USB client mode.”<\/p>\n “My iPad<\/a> even gets this sometimes, and that\u2019s charging with an Apple<\/a> charger … I unplug, plug it back in and it\u2019s fine \u2026 thinking maybe the connectors and getting a bit worn,” another contributor posted.<\/p>\n Finally, one individual offered a general piece of advice: “Don\u2019t use random USB ports that multiple people can access. Always carry a plug or charge-only cable.”<\/p>\n What is ‘Juice Jacking’?<\/p>\n “Juice jacking” is a kind of cyberattack<\/a> launched on unsuspecting users in which a person plugs their smartphone into a USB charging port without a charging block or a charge-only cable.<\/p>\n When they do so, the attacker can use the charging port to transfer malware or steal personal data from the user’s device.<\/p>\n The attacks are considered theoretically possible<\/a>, but also very unlikely\u2014the FCC<\/a> said in 2023 that it was yet to find an example of juice jacking in the wild, and Malwarebytes reported in 2025 that they had not found any examples since. <\/p>\n Still, for users who want to be extra safe, steps can be taken.<\/p>\n How to Avoid Juice Jacking<\/p>\n The best way to avoid juice jacking is to simply carry a charger and plug it into the wall, rather than a USB port. <\/p>\n However, iPhone users can also change a simple setting to make their phone less trusting of USB ports by following these steps:<\/p>\n Open the Settings appScroll down to Privacy & SecurityScroll down to Wired AccessoriesNote the default setting: Automatically Allow When UnlockedChange the setting to: Ask For New Accessories<\/p>\n Taking that action will instruct your phone to ask before immediately allowing your information to be shared to a potentially harmful port. <\/p>\n Newsweek has reached out to the OP for comment via Reddit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An iPhone user badly needed to charge their device in a hotel, and what happened next prompted them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[351,372,1510,3105,19736,18723,20285,192116,29021,192115,5647,25023,342,111,139,69,16792,11224,18434,2437,4535,370,145,192117],"class_list":{"0":"post-365778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-apple","9":"tag-computers","10":"tag-cybersecurity","11":"tag-data","12":"tag-data-security","13":"tag-hackers","14":"tag-hotels","15":"tag-internet-and-technology","16":"tag-internet-security","17":"tag-ipads","18":"tag-iphones","19":"tag-laptops","20":"tag-mobile","21":"tag-new-zealand","22":"tag-newzealand","23":"tag-nz","24":"tag-phone","25":"tag-reddit","26":"tag-scams","27":"tag-security","28":"tag-smartphone","29":"tag-tech","30":"tag-technology","31":"tag-tips-tricks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2267213604.jpg\"\/)
‘A bit safer’<\/p>\n