Are the police allowed to search or take away my phone?

Sometimes they want to take your phone. They can do this if if they suspect a criminal offence has been committed. Another word for ‘take away’ is ‘confiscate’.

The police are only allowed to search your phone with a search warrant. They can then look for evidence of a criminal offence.

They might also ask for the serial number, which they can use to find out if the phone is stolen.

• Only give your phone to the police if they explicitly ask for it and give a reason for doing so, i.e. concrete suspicion of a criminal offence.
• You don’t have to unlock your phone, and you don’t have to give them the passcode, even if they have a warrant to search your phone.
• Ask for a receipt if the police take your phone.
• Think of a good code to keep your data more secure. A numerical code is better than Face ID, and the longer the code, the more secure.
• Ask for your phone to be sealed when they take it away. This will allow you to secure particularly personal and sensitive content (including content relating to another person). The police will still take the phone away, but won’t be allowed to analyse it until the public prosecutor's office has made a decision.
• This sealing can buy you time. You can take your time to think about what you have on your phone, for example.
• The police will return the phone after a few days or weeks, depending on whether it’s important for criminal proceedings.
• You don’t have to tell them the serial number, but they might then confiscate the phone. If you didn’t steal the phone, it makes sense to give them this number.