It's the guilty pleasure of the daily commute that few will admit to, but almost everyone has done. Known as 'backdoor browsing', the act of peering over a stranger's shoulder to read their phone screen has become a ubiquitous part of public transport life in the UK.
Caught in the Act: Commuter Confessions
The phenomenon was thrust into the spotlight after Jack, 27, had an embarrassing encounter on the Northern Line. "She flipped the camera to selfie mode and caught me red-handed staring at her screen," he confessed. The young woman, using Snapchat, inadvertently recorded him in the act during an evening journey in December 2025.
Another commuter, Ria Pandya, 26, witnessed a far juicier slice of drama on the Metropolitan line. She observed a man engaged in a textbook case of multitasking infidelity. "On one app he was messaging his wife about dinners and the kids, and on another he was on Facebook Messenger talking to a girl and sending her pics of different types of lingerie," Ria shared. The man was simultaneously planning a romantic trip with his mistress while arranging childcare with his spouse.
Etiquette Experts Weigh In: Is It Ever Acceptable?
So, where does polite society draw the line? Laura Windsor, a renowned etiquette consultant often called the 'Queen of Etiquette', offered her perspective to Metro. She emphasised that respecting privacy is a core British value, taught from childhood. "We as children were taught not to snoop, to mind our own business, to respect other people's privacy," she stated.
However, Windsor acknowledged the reality of cramped carriages. "Sometimes we are in such close proximity to others that our gaze naturally falls on bright, shiny objects... Some of us resist the urge to snoop, while others continue reading out of sheer curiosity." She drew a parallel to reading a few lines of someone else's book, a minor transgression most are guilty of.
When Curiosity Crosses a Line
While often born of boredom or idle curiosity, backdoor browsing can sometimes escalate into genuine discomfort or harassment. Anna Prudden, 28, recounted a frightening experience on the Victoria line late at night. A man near her kept ducking his head towards her phone before aggressively demanding, "so, what's he texting you!" She gave him a dirty look and he eventually backed off.
This incident highlights a serious concern. With British Transport Police data indicating over a third of women have experienced sexual harassment on trains or the Tube, what might seem like harmless snooping to one person can feel threatening in a wider context of intrusive behaviour.
What should you do if you catch someone reading your texts? Laura Windsor advises calmly pausing and putting your phone away for a few minutes, forcing the browser to redirect their focus. "Alternatively, move nonchalantly to another spot," she suggests. For the more bold, a simple look that says 'can I help you?' might be enough to shame them into stopping, or even spark a conversation.
Some commuters have taken technological measures. Ahmed Abdullah, 31, bought an anti-peeping screen protector after a man asked to watch a football match on his phone with him, a request that "really freaked me out."
The final word goes to the etiquette queen for the active browsers: "Would you like it if someone were to read your private messages? While you may not mind, others might... I would use the time in public to gather your own thoughts, breathe deeply and check in with yourself." It seems the ultimate defence against the urge to snoop might just be a dose of mindfulness.
