&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "How safe is Kerala? German vlogger tests safety by leaving iPhone in public — Here’s what happened next")
A video by a German influencer has gone viral on social media platforms, sparking debate over public honesty and civic sense. In the video, filmed in Kerala, creator Younes Zarou leaves an iPhone unattended on a public platform around 4:30pm to see if anyone would take it. Two hours later, he returns to find the phone exactly where he left it.
While some passersby glanced at the device, no one touched it—prompting Zarou to caption the video on Instagram: “How safe is India??? Location: Kerala.” The post has nearly 38 million views and thousands of comments. Many applauded the display of integrity, but others questioned the authenticity, pointing out that the iPhone was left in full view of cameras and filming equipment.
“This is parallel India,” one user commented. Another user wrote, “Come to my town, the phone would be gone in 10 seconds.” Others suggested the stunt was designed to appeal to Indian audiences, with one comment reading: “If you keep a big tripod and big cammera in front.. Then nobody will rob your phone.. Also i am 100% sure if someone had taken your phone tgen this video would never come, i know you want to show a clean side of India to gain more Indian audience but at least show some reality."
See the video here:
Meanwhile, another user commented, “Try this in Mumbai, you will not need the time lapse.” Across the world, popular influencers have been running such experiments—leaving a valuable item unattended on the roadside for an extended period—to test how safe a city truly is.
