The smartphone is gone
How often do Germans lose their cell phones?
Smartphones are disappearing more often than one might think.
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Most households in Germany have a smartphone. But how often and where are cell phones lost?
Not without my smartphone: Nowadays, most people don’t want to be without their cell phones. This alone shows the spread of the devices. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), in Germany in 2021 there was at least one smart mobile phone in 85 out of 100 households. But the sometimes very expensive devices disappear more often than some might think.
Where is special caution required?
A full 35 percent of the participants in a representative survey commissioned by the industry association Bitkom recently stated that they had lost their smartphone at least once. A further 15 percent of the 1,100 respondents aged 16 and over stated that their mobile phone had already been stolen. And nine percent have already left the device somewhere and found it again later.
Consumers should obviously be particularly careful on buses and trains. 43 percent have left or lost their smartphone on public transport. University, school and work follow in second place with 15 percent, restaurants with 14 percent in third place. In the other places: loss while cycling (twelve percent), in a bar or pub (eleven percent), in a hotel or holiday apartment (ten percent), at concerts or sporting events (nine percent), during sports or in the changing room (six percent). percent), in clubs and discos (five percent), in cinemas and theaters (three percent) and with friends and acquaintances (two percent).
Use location function and save data
A good four out of five participants (79 percent) also stated that their private device had already broken. In order to prepare for the worst-case scenario, users should take precautions. Sebastian Artz, Head of Cyber and Information Security at Bitkom, advises: “Anyone who uses a smartphone should be prepared in the event of a loss.” Because modern cell phones store important data such as contacts, photos and more.
“It is therefore essential to play through the event of loss in your head and, for example, to protect yourself against the complete loss of personal data by making regular backups,” explains Artz. He also points to a location function. Users can not only locate a device but also lock and delete it remotely. This can be done using your own Google account or Apple’s “Where is?” function.