Chilling documentary follows a stolen phone

Anthony van der Meer of the Netherlands got his phone swiped and became curious as to what happens to stolen phones. He decided to make a documentary to record his attempts to get a phone swiped and follow it through previously installed, invisible apps.

“After my phone got stolen, I quickly realized just how much of my personal information and data the thief had instantly obtained,” van der Meer wrote in the video description. “However, to what extent is it possible to truly get to know someone by going through the content of their phone?” After installing hidden software on the phone that was nearly unremovable, van der Meer went to a public place for several days and sat next to a backpack, leaving his phone waiting in the backpack pocket for a would-be thief. But no one touched the phone. It looked like he was going to strike out in Amersterdam, too, but just as van der Meer and his team were leaving for the day, after the hidden camera battery had died, the phone was swiped.

The documentary takes van der Meer to places he never expected it would and at one point he even tries to approach the thief. A good watch if you’re hanging out on the holiday.