Fed's New Rate Hike Eye Infections Money-Saving Tips Huawei Watch Ultimate Adobe's Generative AI Tips to Get More Exercise 12 Healthy Spring Recipes Watch March Madness
Want CNET to notify you of price drops and the latest stories?
No, thank you
Accept

Watch how upset people get when their phones are wiped

Commentary: A Kodak prank ad in the UK shows the sheer agony of your digital life disappearing before your very eyes.

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.


Wait a minute. What's happening?

Kodak/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

If someone walked up to you in the street and offered to show you a new superfast phone charger, would you try it?

Kodak in the UK wanted to see. So it sent a handsome man to try and talk people into handing over the phones for the benefit of a quick charge.

Some apparently did. And then saw their phones wiped. Or, at least, they thought their phones had been wiped.

The sleight of hand was that their phones had been switched. Although this is a little hard to believe, as the handsome man would have had to have been equipped with a wide variety of phones and exceptional magical skills.

Still, the progressive disbelief as some people watched their photos apparently disappearing into the ether makes for entertaining viewing.

You might also find the purpose of the ad, posted to YouTube on Wednesday, entertaining. Kodak wants you to know that 1 in 3 people have lost photos on their phone. Ergo, you should print photos that matter. Oh.

There are other alternatives. One that comes to mind would be backing up your data in the cloud.

And if you print photos, they could get stolen, lost or even catch fire next to a Samsung phone. What would you do then?

Still, for those who only keep their photos on their phones, this might be a welcome thought-starter.

Who are these people? They're people who call those who have "wiped" their phones for a prank a "swine."

Technically Incorrect: Bringing you a fresh and irreverent take on tech.

Virtual reality 101: CNET tells you everything you need to know about VR.