An iPhone user badly needed to charge their device in a hotel, and what happened next prompted them to leave a viral warning for others on social media.
Reddit user max1padthai drew more than 1.6K upvotes on the r/iPhone forum sharing that they plugged their iPhone into a hotel’s charging port.
“The next day, I was super paranoid and decided to check my security settings,” they wrote. “[Turns] out I had the default setting, which allows USB accessory connection when phone is unlocked.
“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.
“So, basically I unknowingly allowed my phone to connect to this device overnight the day before.”
‘A bit safer’
Commenters on the post reassured the original poster (OP) a bit.
“Keep in mind that the prompt ‘allow accessory to connect’ (USB host mode) is different from the prompt ‘Trust this computer?’ (USB client mode). Only the latter allows access to all files,” one commenter wrote.
“While in theory a USB accessory can still manipulate some parts of the system and be very problematic (e.g. a keyboard emulator), it’s still a bit safer than raw data access in USB client mode.”
“My iPad even gets this sometimes, and that’s charging with an Apple charger … I unplug, plug it back in and it’s fine … thinking maybe the connectors and getting a bit worn,” another contributor posted.
Finally, one individual offered a general piece of advice: “Don’t use random USB ports that multiple people can access. Always carry a plug or charge-only cable.”
What is ‘Juice Jacking’?
“Juice jacking” is a kind of cyberattack 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.
When they do so, the attacker can use the charging port to transfer malware or steal personal data from the user’s device.
The attacks are considered theoretically possible, but also very unlikely—the FCC 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.
Still, for users who want to be extra safe, steps can be taken.
How to Avoid Juice Jacking
The best way to avoid juice jacking is to simply carry a charger and plug it into the wall, rather than a USB port.
However, iPhone users can also change a simple setting to make their phone less trusting of USB ports by following these steps:
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down to Privacy & Security
- Scroll down to Wired Accessories
- Note the default setting: Automatically Allow When Unlocked
- Change the setting to: Ask For New Accessories
Taking that action will instruct your phone to ask before immediately allowing your information to be shared to a potentially harmful port.
Newsweek has reached out to the OP for comment via Reddit.
