Why the NSA is right to restart your smartphone every week

Oh, the irony of National Security Agency suggests smartphone users to turn off their phones every now and then. But the NSA is right: you have to restart your phone regularly to rid it of demons. Some phones even let you schedule the reboot, so you don’t have to think about it.

Forbes discovered a very dated NSA document outlining best practices for protecting your phone from bad actors in the digital space. The phones pictured are a 2010s iPhone with the original Home button and a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

More than a dozen tips are included, ranging from “consider using biometrics” to “only use original charging cords.” That’s all fundamental things you’ve seen before, but the tip that caught everyone’s attention was the NSA’s suggestion to turn your device off and on every week. This is not a security solution, but could help reduce zero-click exploits and malware via spearphishing.

For those of you hearing this for the first time, you can rest easy knowing that this is already a common practice among smartphone users.

It’s a simple way to force a rolling software update or kill background apps and memory leaks that could be contributing to a hot, too-handling metal phone. I reboot frequently because I’m having cell signal issues in my area. A quick reboot usually does the trick, but not without my heart beating rapidly waiting to see those mobile service bars return.

A large number of manufacturers have already integrated the feature to restart your phone periodically. This includes Samsung’s Galaxy devices and the latest OnePlus devices. The Google Pixel doesn’t have a scheduled offer, but there is an option you can enable to have the device restart automatically once it receives an over-the-air (OTA) software update. iOS users can create automation this will restart the iPhone every few days.