Woman tracks her stolen iPhone, is now terribly jealous of its new adventurous life

The dread of losing personal items like a wallet or phone—especially an expensive iPhone—is universal. But when writer and musician Elle Cordova’s iPhone was stolen, she turned her misfortune into a lighthearted adventure. Instead of dwelling on the loss, she used the phone's tracking feature to follow its journey. Sharing the updates on TikTok via her account @elle.cordova, Cordova’s video titled "My iPhone is on a big adventure" quickly went viral, amassing over 7 million views and prompting her to document the saga as an ongoing series.

"Now and then, I like to track my stolen iPhone, just to check in and keep up on its adventures," Cordova says in her video, with a Google Maps display of her phone’s current location in the background. "Little buddy is currently living it up in Algiers, and as I see on my weather app, it’s really nice this time of the year. Also, it’s really close to the Mediterranean Sea. So I can imagine some nice salty air breezing through its charging port now."

Cordova shared that the phone was originally stolen in Barcelona and has since been making its way through various locations. Her humorous approach to the situation has resonated with viewers, turning a frustrating event into a wildly popular, globetrotting tale.

Cordova had been vacationing in Barcelona a few months before posting the video when a man on a moped sped past and snatched her phone. "My phone was headed southwest to the beautiful city of Madrid, where I am guessing, it got to take in some flamenco music. Maybe it joined in on the songs, considering I was making it ding incessantly at that point," Cordova joked in the video. She also shared an unexpected twist involving the thief. "He actually was kind enough to send me a photo of our little digital nomad here looking a little worse for wear, but that's the nature of the road," Cordova said, showing the picture of her phone that the thief had sent her.

"He asked me repeatedly to release the lock on the phone and remove it from my Apple ID, but then again, how would I follow along on this beautiful adventure? Eventually, my phone crossed the Strait of Gibraltar either by ferry or pedestrian crossing. It is impossible to say, but either way, I pictured the phone looking over the water and contemplating the fleeting nature of Wi-Fi or something," Cordova continued. After reaching Algiers, Cordova noted that her phone remained stationary for a while. She wondered if the thief had found a charging port for it or if the phone had found its forever home. She also posted her video on her YouTube channel (@ElleCordova), where viewers became increasingly invested in the intriguing journey of her stolen iPhone and its thief.

@christophermahon1851 wrote, "Everything that happens to a writer is potential material. Kudos for making us all some lemonade, Elle. It really sucks to lose a phone." @travelingcompanionromeo6788 suggested, "Tell them to send you money to unlock the phone. Then never unlock it. And make it ding constantly at like 2 am there." @resurgam_b7 added, "Upon discovering that it could not be unlocked, it was probably sold to some unfortunate sucker who is now stuck with a useless device and will try to pawn it off on the next person they can con into buying it. Glad you're able to find some levity in an unfortunate situation."

You can follow Elle Cordova on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram for more lifestyle content.