WHAT was supposed to be a simple phone repair turned into a nightmare for one Malaysian man who claims a phone shop in Shah Alam viewed his private photo gallery without permission.
In a viral TikTok video posted by user @dekk.mar, the man alleged that during an LCD replacement, staff accessed hidden files on his phone after he provided his passcode for the repair.
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“Around 7pm, I went to a phone repair shop at plaza mall in Shah Alam to replace my damaged LCD.
“I trusted this shop to provide good service. However, I didn’t expect the staff to so easily violate my privacy, which should never happen at a repair shop.
“After I gave them my password, one of the staff accessed my phone gallery, claiming they needed to check the latest photos to see if the camera was working.
“But my question is—why did they go as far as opening my hidden photos without asking for my permission first?” he wrote in the caption.
“When I found out, I became emotional and scolded the staff with harsh words, because this kind of thing shouldn’t have happened.
“To anyone planning to repair your phone in this building—please be very careful.
“Your phone could be hacked or you might get scammed! I made this video to warn future customers to be extra cautious and to monitor your phones closely during repairs. There could be more victims after this,” he advised.
“After getting caught, one of the staff finally started repairing my phone in front of me, and another—who clearly felt guilty—gave me some free items like a tempered glass and a camera lens protector.
“This shop is located on Level 3, next to the escalator and right in front of a flower shop,” he added.
The incident ignited a flood of responses online. Many netizens stood by the man, asserting that his privacy had been clearly compromised.
One user called J shared: “This happened to me once too. I went to repair and change my iPhone LCD—they asked for my passcode. After the repair was done, I scrolled through my phone and suddenly noticed my gallery was open, even though I had purposely refreshed and cleared everything before handing it in.”
ZhenoR advised: “My advice as a technician: Always put a passlock on your gallery before sending your phone for repair. Most repair shops will ask for your phone password because after the repair, they need to test everything—like the speaker, touchscreen, sensors, GPS, proximity sensor, camera, and more.
“But if they ask for your gallery password—don’t give it to them.”
