Is it safe to charge your phone at the airport?
Last reviewed July 16, 2026
Short answer: the risk is real in principle, rare in practice, and cheap to eliminate. Here is the honest version.
What U.S. agencies actually said
In April 2023, the FBI's Denver field office advised travelers to avoid free public USB charging stations in airports, hotels, and shopping centers. The FCC's consumer guide recommended carrying a charging-only cable from a trusted supplier - the FCC has since retired that page, so our source is the archived copy. The same archived guidance also said the FCC was “not aware of any confirmed instances” of juice jacking actually occurring - a caveat most coverage skips, and one we think you deserve to see.
What changed in 2025
Peer-reviewed “ChoiceJacking” research showed the USB trust prompt - the “charge only or trust?” dialog that was supposed to make public ports safe - can be defeated on devices from eight vendors, including the top six by market share. Vendors are patching, but the episode makes the general point: software defenses need constant re-fixing; a physical break in the data lines does not.
What actually protects you, ranked
- Wall outlet + your own charger. No USB data path exists at all. This was the agencies' first recommendation.
- Make the cable itself safe. A data-blocker dongle, a charge-only cable - or a switchable cable that does both jobs and shows its mode at a glance.
- Carry a power bank. Charge from your own battery, touch nothing public.
- If your phone asks, choose “charge only.” Still worth doing - just don't make it your only line of defense; see the 2025 research above.
The full ranked list, including rental cars and borrowed cables: Public charging safety checklist.