Charlie Sawyer
Published December 1, 2025 6:30am
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If it’s so wrong, why does it feel so right? (Picture: Getty)
‘She flipped the camera to selfie mode and caught me red-handed staring at her screen.’
Jack, 27, was riding the Northern line after work when he found himself ‘backdoor browsing’ — the term Metro has coined for peering at a stranger’s phone over their shoulder.
Let’s be real: we’ve all done it. Humans are a naturally curious species — you could even go as far as to say that nosiness is baked into our genetics.
But while gossip and some softcore eavesdropping is relatively harmless, some train-riders have got into the potentially problematic habit of reading random stranger’s text messages while on public trasnport.
They might be reading this article on your phone right now…
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‘There was this young woman stood in front of me on the Tube and she was quite a lot shorter than me, probably aged around 16 or 17, and she was using Snapchat,’ Jack shares.
‘Typing away on the chat function, she all of a sudden flicked over to the camera and because it was on selfie mode, she ended up recording me looking at her screen…’
Ria Pandya, 26, got a peak at some seriously juicy gossip when she peered over and caught sight of a man on the Metropolitan line engaged in some dodgy texting activity.
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‘I was on the train and sat next to a man who kept flicking between screens. On one app he was messaging his wife about their 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 he could buy her for.
‘He was sending this girl pictures of red lace lingerie for their trip and also telling his wife that she’d have to take the kids to football this weekend…’
The multi-tasking skills of cheaters never ceases to amaze me.
Is backdoor browsing bad etiquette?
Laura Windsor, known as the Queen of Etiquette, told Metro: ‘We as children were taught not to snoop, to mind our own business, to respect other people’s privacy — that is at the very core of our Britishness.’
She continued: ‘However, sometimes we are in such close proximity to others that our gaze naturally falls on bright, shiny objects or any object that is in front of us. Some of us resist the urge to snoop, while others continue reading out of sheer curiosity. How many of us are guilty of reading a few lines of someone else’s book? Most of us are guilty of that.’
Most Backdoor Browsers typically aren’t trying to purposefully invade people’s privacy — but there are times when it can feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Anna Prudden, 28, told Metro: ‘One time when I was coming back from a night out, I was on the Victoria line at around 11:30pm and from the reflection in the tube I noticed this man near me who kept ducking his head towards me — jerking it in my direction.
‘We got close to Stockwell and he started saying things like “so, what’s he texting you!” I gave him a dirty look and he eventually backed off.’
Jokes aside, no-one is entitled to invade your privacy just because you’re in a public space. And as British Transport Police data suggests over a third of women have been victims of sexual harassment on the trains or Tube, it’s vital to reflect on how your behaviour could feel in the context of a wider problem.
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So, what should you do if you catch someone reading your texts?
If you do find yourself confronted with a backdoor browser, Laura recommends pausing and putting your phone away for a few minutes so that they redirect their focus.
She adds: ‘Alternatively, move nonchalantly to another spot and hope that the next person won’t be as curious!’
If you’re naturally more bold, however, Laura suggests that you could always give the perpetrator a simple look as if to say ‘yes, can I help you?’ It could be an opportunity to ‘laugh and initiate a conversation’.
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Ahmed Abdullah, 31, purchased an anti-peeping screen protector after he got sick of people reading his phone when he was on public transport.
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He shared: ‘I was once on the overground watching the football on my phone. Then, all of a sudden, this man behind me asked “do you mind if you take your headphones out and we watch it together?” It really freaked me out.’
Oh, and for all you active backdoor brokers out there, I know you’re reading this, the queen of etiquette has a few choice words for you:
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‘Would you like it if someone were to read your private messages? While you may not mind, others might. It’s no excuse. I would use the time in public to gather your own thoughts, breath deeply and check in with yourself. These moments are perfect for mindfulness, self-awareness, and noticing how many other people aren’t minding their own business!’
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