Samsung alert affects all iPhone and Android users—change your PIN now

Samsung has revealed that smartphone users can leave themselves vulnerable to being hacked because of one obvious issue: the number of people looking at their screens. Well, Samsung has skin in the game, what with the new Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display feature, but even so, it’s the fact that it published a survey in which 56% of strangers admit to looking at other people’s phones. Specifically 24% said they did it on purpose, not by accident. This is not just a privacy issue, but a security one. Shoulder surfing has been a criminal practice for the longest time, used to grab your ATM PIN before stealing your card and, of course, your smartphone unlock PIN for the same reason. So, dear reader, you now need to change your PIN.

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Following the new Samsung alert, why do you need to change your PIN and what should you change it to?

There are many important security fixes released for users of Samsung Galaxy smartphones, but one of the simplest and yet potentially most effective in terms of day-to-day security for the average user is overlooked. While software and operating system vulnerabilities do, of course, present a real threat, the severity of the threat is often much lower for the average consumer than you might imagine. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply timely security updates, but it does mean there are others you’ve probably overlooked, exposing you to much greater real-world risk. An example would be phishing attacks, such as targeting your Gmail account. Most of these attacks against consumers are aimed at gaining access to your accounts, as opposed to high-value targets such as journalists, politicians and industry executives. Getting access to your phone is the easiest way to do that, as it can unlock a lot of data. Especially if the attacker has your smartphone unlock pin.

According to an April 2nd Samsung Alert, which was the result of a survey of European smartphone users, your screen isn’t really as private as you think. And don’t be fooled into thinking that this only involves Europe: I can assure you that the issue is as serious for US users as previous reports have confirmed, and for anything else in the world. “This is especially the case in public transport,” the alert confirmed, “which 57% cite as a place where third parties are most likely to view screens.” But the truth is, it can happen anywhere, anytime. So I recommend you to change your smartphone PIN now, especially if you are using a short code.

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Along with the shoulder-surfing risk, there are also lists of vulnerable PIN codes for criminals to exploit. There are two things, therefore, that I recommend to reduce this risk, and neither of them include buying the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra with privacy display feature. If you want to go down that route, you can get privacy screen protectors, which help a little, but if the attacker is standing right behind you, they won’t do anything. Instead, I suggest that you first change your PIN code to something other than four-digit. Mine is ten points, and I can easily remember. If you want maximum security on numbers you can go up to 16 digits on both Android and iOS. The more numbers, the harder it is for someone to note them all down when you’re using the PIN keyboard. Difficult, but not impossible by any stretch. So my second recommendation should also apply: if you’re not already doing so, change to biometric unlock, face or finger, for your lock screen. Now, you only have to use your PIN on rare occasions, greatly reducing the chances of any shoulder-surfing attacker. And they can’t steal your face by looking at your phone.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com