Pocket Dial Nightmares: Real Stories of Accidental Phone Calls

We’ve all been there: You pull your phone out of your pocket and your heart sinks . . . You’ve pocket dialed someone! Maybe it was just a brief ring where someone didn’t even pick up, but for many people these accidental calls have led to dramatic, embarrassing, and sometimes even dangerous or destructive consequences. You’ve also likely received a call from an unknown number, a friend, or even a spouse and you pick it up only to realize you have been butt dialed and are now potentially privy to a private conversation.

Here are examples of butt dials that have led to either funny or shocking outcomes and what you can do to avoid making the same mistakes.

Consider the amusing story of Greg who accidentally called a friend from a rollercoaster. He admits, “I once butt dialed from a roller coaster at Cedar Point. My friend got to hear me scream like a child the entire time. Didn’t hear the end of that for a while….”

Other pocket dials lead to more awkward moments like this  tale where someone accidentally called a friend while they were mid-argument with their partner. The recipient of the phone call and others in the car listened to the whole fight, only to learn that this friend had been harboring unrequited feelings for one of the friends in the car. Needless to say, this caused awkward tension among the group.

Pocket dials have also been the catalyst for the end of many relationships. Take influencer Catherine Piaz who recounted on the Call Her Daddy podcast how her then-boyfriend, Austin McBroom, accidentally butt dialed her while he was with another women. Ouch.

In an advice column, a woman admitted to mocking her friend Laura’s disabled son while talking with her husband. Unbeknownst to her, she had pocket dialed Laura during the conversation, revealing her true colors. Laura, who had overhead this conversation, went on to end their years-long friendship.

In another example, posted on Spiceworks, a man recounted how his wife was on Skype with an old friend. The friend unknowingly butt dialed his girlfriend mid-rant about her. She listened silently to every insult, then erupted, yelling through the phone while the friend desperately tried to back pedal. I think it’s safe to say that that relationship was unsalvageable. Another Spiceworks user got a butt dial voicemail from an employee during work hours. The message recorded a very private moment, seven minutes of crystal-clear intimacy. It’s safe to say this was not the kind of voicemail anyone wants to hear (or explain to HR).

Tom Kodey of Port Orange, Florida, learned that even phones with keyboard locks aren’t foolproof. His phone managed to call 911 while in his pocket, triggering a call-back and a wellness check. As this Ooma guide on what to do when unknown numbers appear explains, sometimes you should answer those mystery calls—especially if they’re from emergency services.

While on the subject of 911, in a quite infamous accidental call, Florida man Scott Simon pocket dialed 911 while talking about a murder he was planning. The dispatcher stayed on the line, recording the entire conversation. That accidental call led directly to his arrest and eventual conviction for first-degree murder. You can’t make this stuff up.

In this new age, with loads of contacts on our devices and not looking closely, pocket texting is a closely related issue. Ray Bulter from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, claims pocket texting has become “much worse than pocket dialing.” Ray has not only been subject to accidental messages often but has also sent a few. For example, he admits that as he “was headed to the airport to pick up [his] daughter, instead of texting , [he] texted a co-worker.”

Another example happened to my friend Eddy. Following a fight with a boy named Anderson, Eddy sent an apology and Anderson then forgave him. Eddy replied “thanks,” and a few minutes late received a text from Anderson saying, “he said ‘thanks’.” Clearly Anderson had been sharing Eddy’s conversation with another person and had accidentally messaged Eddy instead of this third party. Awkward.

If these stories made your heart race, don’t worry, you are not alone. Fortunately, there are several easy steps you can take to prevent butt dialing and texting accidents.

First, you can set up a biometric lock such as face ID or fingerprint ID or a long, strong passcode to strengthen your lock settings, which will reduce the chance of your phone making unintended calls in your pocket. Next, you can turn off tap-to-wake and voice commands as accidental contact can be triggered by those features. You can also enable “do not disturb” or airplane mode when needed, like during a meeting, at a movie, or about to take off on a roller coaster. Another simple way to prevent miscalls is to clean up your speed dial list.

You can also try using a home phone that can’t make a pocket dial. That’s where Ooma’s home phone systems come in. Home phones live on the counter, not in your jeans, and therefore protect you completely from accidental calls. You can even take your home phone on the go with Ooma’s free calling app that expands your service to be accessible wherever you are. And, as with a home phone, there’s almost no risk of pocket dialing from an app.