What’s a USB Condom, and Do You Need One?

Yes, USB condoms are a real thing and you should probably buy one.

A USB condom is essentially a device that sits between your phone’s charging cable and a public USB phone charging station in order to prevent a data exchange. The USB condom stops “juice jacking” by blocking the data pins in the USB cable and only allowing power (not data) to flow through.

If you’re out and about and don’t have a portable charger, you’re likely to turn to one of those public charging stations. But, not all public phone charging stations are created equal. Some, like ours at ChargeItSpot, are much safer than others. So if you’re a frequent traveler and need to use public charging kiosks at the airport or hotel, you may want to err on the side of caution and purchase a data blocking USB condom.