Airplane mode is a software switch that turns off some of your phone's radios. A Faraday bag is a physical shield that blocks all of them. Airplane mode is fine for a flight. If you need to be sure your phone isn't transmitting, only a working Faraday bag (or a powered-off phone, with caveats below) does that.
Background on the bags themselves: what is a Faraday bag and do you need one.
What airplane mode actually turns off
Less than most people think. Apple's own support page says that on iPhone and iPad, turning on Airplane Mode from Control Center "turns off all radios except for Bluetooth", and that you can still use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in Airplane Mode. Apple also notes the device remembers your Bluetooth choice: if you turn Bluetooth off while in Airplane Mode, it stays off the next time you turn Airplane Mode on. If you never do, it stays on.
So "airplane mode" can mean "no cell connection, but Bluetooth and Wi-Fi still on." Check the icons every time.
Location is a separate switch. Airplane mode doesn't turn off Location Services on iPhone or Android. That's its own setting, and apps that already have permission can keep using whatever location the phone can work out.
What a Faraday bag stops
A sealed, working bag cuts the phone off from cell towers, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS at once, whatever the settings say. In a SANS Internet Storm Center test, a sealed bag made a phone hotspot disappear and kept an iPhone from receiving a call.
The difference that matters: airplane mode asks the phone's software to stop. A Faraday bag doesn't ask. That's why forensic examiners use shielding. NIST's mobile forensics guidelines explain that isolating a seized phone prevents remote wipe commands, incoming messages that change data, and the phone sending out its GPS location.
The bag's weak spot is quality. Bags can leak, especially as they wear. See why Faraday bags stop working for how to test yours.
Side by side
- Cellular: Airplane mode turns it off. Faraday bag blocks it.
- Wi-Fi: Airplane mode may leave it on or let you turn it back on. Faraday bag blocks it.
- Bluetooth: On iPhone, Apple says airplane mode leaves it on unless you've turned it off. Faraday bag blocks it.
- Offline-finding beacons (Find My, Find Hub): Run over Bluetooth, so airplane mode may not stop them. Faraday bag blocks them.
- Location Services: Not controlled by airplane mode. A Faraday bag blocks the signals the phone uses to work out and send its location.
- Trust required: Airplane mode means you trust the software. A Faraday bag means you trust the bag, which you can test.
Find My and offline finding: the part people miss
Modern phones can be located even when they have no internet connection, using other people's phones as relays.
On Apple devices, Apple's platform security guide explains that a missing device with no network connection periodically broadcasts a key over Bluetooth. Nearby Apple devices pick it up, encrypt their own location to that key and upload it, so only the owner can see it. Apple says the key rotates about every 15 minutes so the device can't be tracked over time by outsiders.
Some iPhones can even be found after they're turned off. According to Engadget, iPhone 11 and later models (except SE and "e" models) can be located for roughly 24 hours after being shut down, and for about five hours in Power Reserve after the battery dies, as long as the Find My network setting is on.
Android has the same idea. Google's support page says that for supported devices like the Pixel 8 series, the Find Hub network can still locate the phone for several hours after it's turned off, if Bluetooth and Location were on when it powered down.
These features are built to help owners find lost phones, and they're encrypted. But they show that "off" and "airplane mode" don't always mean "silent." If you want your phone completely dark, a tested Faraday bag is the reliable way.
When airplane mode isn't enough
- Protests and sensitive meetings. Cell-site simulators impersonate cell towers to identify phones nearby. Airplane mode should keep the cellular radio off, but you're trusting software. More in surveillance at protests.
- You suspect your phone is compromised. Software you don't control is the problem, so a software switch isn't the fix.
- You need to prove a phone was isolated. That's what forensic examiners use bags for.
When airplane mode is fine
- Flights, saving battery, and cutting distractions.
- Ordinary privacy, combined with good settings. For most people, app permissions and location history matter more. Start with stop your phone from tracking you.
Questions people ask
Is airplane mode as good as a Faraday bag?
No. Airplane mode is a software setting, and on iPhone Apple says it leaves Bluetooth on unless you turn it off. A working Faraday bag physically blocks every radio signal.
Can your phone be tracked in airplane mode?
The cellular radio is off, but Bluetooth and Wi-Fi may still be on, and offline-finding networks use Bluetooth. Apps with location permission may also keep logging location locally.
Does airplane mode turn off GPS?
Location Services is a separate setting from airplane mode on both iPhone and Android. Turn it off on its own if you don't want apps using your location.
Can Find My locate my iPhone in airplane mode or when it's off?
It can use the Find My network over Bluetooth, and some iPhone 11 and later models can be found for about 24 hours after being turned off if that setting is on.
Should I put my phone in airplane mode inside a Faraday bag?
It does no harm and saves battery, since a phone that can't find a signal works harder to search for one. The bag still does the actual blocking.
Want to know where else you're leaking? Take the free 3-minute privacy exposure check. It includes a free data-broker deletion letter. For a full phone and location lockdown, Ghost Protocol v4 walks you through it step by step.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
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