A relative or friend is setting up your new phone for you

A new phone comes with an hour of setup screens, accounts, transfers and permissions. When a son, a niece or a tech-minded friend offers to do it for you, it’s a real kindness. The only catch is what can be left behind afterward: their account signed in, their fingerprint enrolled “for testing”, a PIN they now know, apps they find useful but you didn’t choose. None of this usually comes from bad intent. It’s simply worth a short check once the phone is yours.

While they’re helping

Enter the secrets yourself. When the phone asks you to set a PIN, take the phone and type it yourself. Do the same for your account password and your bank app. A helper can talk you through it without seeing the numbers.

Use your own account. The phone’s main account decides where your photos, contacts and backups go. If they suggest “just use mine for now”, say no. If you don’t have an account, create one together, in your name, with a password only you know.

Enroll only your own fingerprint or face. Some helpers add theirs to check it works. Ask them not to, or remove it before they leave.

Ask what they’re installing and why. Most helpers add a messaging app, a video call app and maybe a game. Ask for a quick list, and say no to anything that tracks location or monitors the phone unless you’ve agreed to it.

A ten-minute check afterward

When the phone is set up and you’re on your own, go through these.

1. Accounts. Open Settings and look at the accounts the phone is signed in to. On iPhone, your name at the top of Settings is the main account. On Android, look under Passwords, passkeys & accounts, or search Settings for “accounts”. Remove any account that isn’t yours.

2. Screen lock. If they saw you set your PIN, change it now. Choose six digits or more. On Android, this is in the screen lock section of Settings. On iPhone, it’s in the passcode section.

3. Fingerprints and faces. In the same security settings, look at the enrolled fingerprints or faces. Remove any you didn’t add yourself.

4. Apps. Scroll through your apps. Uninstall anything you don’t recognize. For the rest, check what they can access, especially location, photos, microphone and messages. See which apps can see your photos.

5. Sharing. Check whether your location, photos or calendar are shared with anyone. On iPhone, Safety Check reviews what you share with people and apps in one place. See iPhone Safety Check explained.

6. Your account’s devices. From your account’s security page, check which devices are signed in. Their phone or tablet shouldn’t be on the list. See checking devices signed in to your account.

What doesn’t help

• Not asking for help at all. A phone set up with help, then checked, is safer than one left half set up.
• Writing your PIN on a note for them. If they need to help again, they can guide you while you type.
• Keeping their account “for now”. Moving photos and backups to your own account later is harder than starting with it.

If something feels wrong

If you find a monitoring app you didn’t agree to, a shared location you didn’t turn on, or an account you can’t remove, that’s a different situation from a careless setup. See an ex still has access to your accounts for how to regain control safely.

Where a vault helps

A helper who set up your phone may know its PIN for a while, even after the best intentions. Silo, coming soon to iPhone and Android, has its own PIN, chosen by you when you first open it, separate from the phone’s. Set it up after they’ve gone, and the photos and documents you keep there stay yours. Silo can also open with your fingerprint or face, using the ones enrolled on the phone, which is one more reason to check that list.