Many international news stories quietly slip past us, but every now and then one makes you pause. Recently, it came out that the British prime minister used a burner phone during an official visit to Beijing. His team reportedly avoided personal phones altogether, relying instead on temporary email accounts, notepads, and pens.
What’s more surprising isn’t the behaviour itself, it’s that this is now considered normal in international diplomacy.
So naturally, the question pops up.
Are our phones really that easy to spy on?
Not exactly easy. But possible. And sometimes uncomfortably so.
At first, it sounds like paranoia. But when you think about it, it actually makes grim sense.
Modern phones are amazing devices. They’re always switched on, always connected, always listening for something: calls, messages, location, updates. They track where we go, what we search, who we talk to, and what we like. In many ways, they’re no longer just phones. They’re personal diaries we carry in our pockets.
For powerful people like prime ministers or political leaders, this is a real risk. Those who want their information don’t wait for mistakes. They don’t need you to click a suspicious link. In some cases, they can send a message you never even see and still gain access.
Against that level of threat, even the most secure phone isn’t foolproof. That’s why officials fall back on burner phones, disconnected devices, and old-fashioned pen and paper during sensitive meetings.
So yes, if someone is determined enough to break into a prime minister’s phone, they probably can.
But what about the rest of us?
This is where an important difference comes in: ability versus interest.
Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it’s worth doing. The tools used to spy on world leaders cost enormous amounts of money and effort. Most ordinary people simply aren’t important enough to justify that level of attention.
Instead, everyday people usually get caught out in much simpler ways:
- Fake emails or messages
- Dodgy apps
- Weak or reused passwords
- Data leaks from companies
- Being talked into sharing information
In short, most people aren’t “hacked”. They’re tricked.
Phones aren’t unsafe because companies don’t know what they’re doing. They’re unsafe because they’re incredibly complicated, rely on massive global networks, and are designed to prioritise convenience over caution.
Yes, if governments can spy on prime ministers, they technically can spy on anyone. But they usually won’t unless you’re influential, visible, or unusually exposed.
The real risk isn’t that someone is secretly watching you. The real risk is that many of us share so much of our lives so openly that no spying is needed at all.