Smartphones have become an integral part of everyone’s lives in this day and age. Using your phone correctly not only increases its life, but also safeguards your personal information. How you position your phone—facing down or facing up—may appear inconsequential, but it can have a tremendous impact on both your device and your privacy.

When you’re not using your phone, place it face down on a table, especially if you’re surrounded by people, to protect personal information and reap other benefits you may be unaware of. Adopting this simple habit will protect both your device and your personal data, removing unnecessary distractions and preventing damage to your phone. Placing a phone face down on the table, rather than face up, can give various unexpected benefits.

1. Prevents dust and other particles from contacting the screen. When your phone’s screen faces upward, dust and dirt can quickly accumulate, distorting its appearance and potentially shortening its life. Accidental spills of water, food, or other liquids are typical in an office setting with numerous people moving around. If your phone is facing up, these will have a direct effect on the screen. Even with dust and water-resistant telephones, physical impact can degrade device performance.

2. Prevents the raised camera from being scratched. Nowadays, cellphones commonly feature raised camera lenses to improve photo quality. If you place the phone face up, the protruding lens may scrape on the table, causing scratches and reducing image quality. Placing the phone face down prevents the camera from immediately touching the surface, protecting it from damage.

3. Better Privacy Protection. When your phone is face up, everyone around may readily see any calls or texts that come in. If the message is private, it may result in an unpleasant situation. Furthermore, if banking apps remain open while the phone is facing up, sensitive information may be exposed. Of course, when you’re not using your phone, turning it face down has various benefits.

Turning off call or message notifications and placing the phone face down, for example, can improve your concentration when studying or working. Another tip: when carrying your phone in your pocket, place it face down against your body. This way, you can avoid damaging the screen with metal objects or table corners, as well as keeping the phone from overheating and causing skin burns.

4. Preventing Accidental Actions. When you hold your phone face up, you may inadvertently take photos or make random calls. This can be really annoying. These concerns can be alleviated by placing the phone face down, especially for people who are nervous about social media. You won’t have to worry about accidentally phoning someone or taking embarrassing photos.

5. Improved focus. Smartphones have notification systems that notify them to new communications. While this tool is handy for quickly receiving communications, it can be annoying if notifications appear frequently. To avoid this issue, place your phone face down on the table or turn off lock screen notifications. This allows you to focus by preventing notifications from distracting you, but you can still check notifications after unlocking the device as usual, ensuring that you don’t miss any important information.