After a few different stories surrounding crooks using Pokemon Go to steal phones and commit other crimes, it seems social media has been ablaze with warnings surrounding not getting your phone stolen while wandering around collecting endless Pidgeys. Unfortunately, phones getting snatched isn’t exactly a new phenomenon, but friends of mine who regularly ride public transit totally zoned out of their surroundings staring at a tiny screen all consistently swear my one thing: Getting a wrist strap.
If you’re reading this story on your phone, chances are you’re holding it like everyone else does: The bottom is resting on your pinky, with the back resting against other three fingers while you diddle around with your thumb. The default phone grips works great for using a smartphone… Not so much for actually holding on to a smartphone. This grip is wholly responsible for why phone snatching is so easy, as combine not really paying attention with not really holding on to your phone, and, well, this is why we can’t have nice things.
Phone Loops seem to be the easiest way to get a better grip on your phone as they work with basically every case out there. You could probably even make your own if you’re a little crafty. Here’s how they work:
Effectively, it’s a loop with a piece of adhesive backing that you stick on the back of your phone then sandwich between your phone and its case. It’s surprisingly strong too, as show in the video, it can handle the same kind of tugs that you’d experience as someone tries to snatch your phone out of your hands. I doubt many thieves are going to try to stick around and fight you for your phone, so, instead of snatching it and then running away, chances are they’d attempt the snatch, be like “Oh crap WTF," and continue their plan to run away.
Oh, and you’ve got the added benefit of a second chance of your phone not falling to the ground if you ever accidentally drop it. Of course these particular loops aren’t the only solution out there for this kind of thing, if you prefer a particular wrist strap (or case with strap), let us know in the comments.
