12 Believable Excuses for Accidental Calls

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Plus, how to prevent embarrassing accidental calls in the future
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Accidentally calling someone can be a little embarrassing, whether it's on Instagram, WhatsApp, or just your phone, but it's usually no big deal. Still, if you find that you get tongue-tied upon discovering that you've accidentally called someone, keep reading for the best excuses you can give that will help smooth over the awkwardness. And on the off-chance that you "accidentally" called someone on purpose? Don't worry—we've got you covered for that too.

Best Excuses for an Accidental Call

  • "My phone was in my pocket."
  • "My pet walked on my phone."
  • "A child was playing with my phone."
  • "I was trying to decline another call."
  • "I have a new phone and don't know how to use it yet."
Section 1 of 2:

Excuses for Accidentally Calling Someone

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  1. The "pocket dial" or "butt dial" is a common occurrence. In fact, as many as 30% of calls to 911 are accidental pocket dials. Chances are whoever you accidentally called has done this before themselves, so they'll likely understand and be totally cool about it. [1]
    • Works best if: You typically wear pants with pockets and frequently slip your phone into your back pocket.
    • Avoid if: You never wear clothes with pockets or never put your phone in your pocket.
  2. Anybody who's spent any time around toddlers knows that they're constantly grabbing at everything. If you've got a little one running around, chances are they've commandeered your phone at some point, so you know the drill. If you accidentally called a fellow parent, chances are the two of you will laugh it off together.
    • Works best if: You have young kids or spend a lot of time around young kids (the younger the better) and the person you accidentally called has kids.
    • Avoid if: You don't have any kids or spend time around kids.
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  3. If you have a cat, you know that they tend to go wherever they please. If your cat has yet to walk on, stand on, or even sit on your phone, just give it time. Fellow cat people will understand when you explain the "paw dial", but be forewarned—they will likely ask for a picture of the culprit.
    • Works best if: You have a cat and you accidentally called a cat person.
    • Avoid if: You don't have a cat.
  4. It's true, different phones sometimes have a little bit of a learning curve and oops! You accidentally called someone! This is a good excuse if you called them "accidentally" on purpose, especially if you talk to them immediately and sound flustered. It gives them an opening to ask about your new phone. Maybe you could meet up for coffee later and they could give you some pointers on it.
    • Works best if: You're not a very tech-savvy person, people generally know that about you, and you actually have a new phone.
    • Avoid if: You're a tech person and people know you're a tech person; you're using the same phone you've had for years.
  5. If you haven't cleaned your phone yet today, you probably should—research shows cell phones have 10 times the amount of bacteria found on the average toilet seat. [2] Gross! Unfortunately, even if it's locked, cleaning a touch-screen phone can cause it to activate sometimes. Just fess up, and whoever you accidentally called will hopefully be happy to know that you're cleaning your phone.
    • Works best if: You have a clean phone.
    • Avoid if: Your phone has a cracked screen and clearly hasn't been cleaned in months, if ever.
  6. Your phone starts buzzing and you look down. As you go to decline, you get another notification, so you try to take care of that and end up accidentally calling someone. It could happen to anyone! Saying it was a telemarketer just keeps it neutral so you don't have to worry about explaining why you were declining someone's call.
    • Works best if: You accidentally call someone during the day (telemarketers don't call late at night).
    • Avoid if: It's late at night or super-early in the morning.
  7. Some apps are notorious for putting that call button right next to another button that you might need to use more frequently. This can make it really easy to tap while you're scrolling or trying to do something else. It could even totally accidentally happen while you were just pulling up the person's profile to look at their new pic.
    • Works best if: You don't have great fine motor skills.
    • Avoid if: You have extremely thin, tapered fingers or you do something frequently that requires delicate precision, such as crafting miniatures for dollhouses or performing surgery.
  8. This is another excuse that plays on self-deprecation a little—it helps if you gently chide yourself for being clumsy while you apologize to the person you accidentally called. But at the same time, those phones can get slippery! Nobody's going to fault you for this and they might even ask if your phone is ok.
    • Works best if: Someone has called you "butterfingers" at some point in your life.
    • Avoid if: You're known for doing something that requires good grip, such as rock climbing.
  9. While some parents are more creative than others, every generation tends to have a handful of names that are extremely popular. For example, if you're an American who was born in 2002, you likely have a lot of Madisons and Jacobs in your phone. [3] No one could blame you if you accidentally called the wrong one. Want to call them intentionally more often? Ask for a special nickname you can use for them in your phone.
    • Works best if: The person you accidentally called has a fairly common name.
    • Avoid if: The person you accidentally called has an unmistakably unique name.
  10. Muscle memory is a powerful thing. In fact, research suggests it might sometimes be capable of controlling movement without any conscious input from your brain. [4] So if you move those icons around, it might take your fingers a little while to adjust to what your eyes can clearly see. Anybody who's ever done this will totally understand.
    • Works best if: You have a lot of icons on your home screen and they aren't in default locations.
    • Avoid if: You only have the default icons on your home screen in the same locations they were when you bought the phone.
  11. This is another easy one to do, especially if you're navigating from a contact or profile page, which might have the text and call icons right next to each other. Sometimes even the icons themselves can be confusing, leading you to call when you meant to text. Just let the person know—it's not a big deal!
    • Works best if: You call and text with the person on a regular basis.
    • Avoid if: You know that the person you accidentally called hates getting phone calls and will take it personally if you call instead of texting them.
  12. It's totally a joke... unless it isn't. Even an otherwise ordinary butt dial can take on a different meaning if you imply that someone is playing with your phone from beyond the dead. This one's not for the faint of heart, but if you're good at acting out all the spooky details, this excuse can be entertaining for you and the person you accidentally called.
    • Works best if: It's near Halloween or you're feeling a little silly.
    • Avoid if: The person you accidentally called has something against ghosts or the supernatural.
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Section 2 of 2:

Preventing Accidental Calls

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  1. If your phone isn't locked, anything can be activated on the touchscreen—especially if your phone is in your pocket. That's why you can lock the screens on both iPhones and Android phones. Keeping your screen locked at all times when you're not using it will give you peace of mind that your phone isn't accidentally calling someone. [5]
  2. If you're not going to remember to manually lock your phone every time you're done using it, you've got auto-lock to the rescue. If your accidental calls are happening due to interference from pets and children, you'll want to check this in your phone settings.
  3. If it's fat fingers causing accidental calls, you can use the accessibility settings of your iPhone or Android phone to make the icons on your home screen larger and farther apart. Then you should be able to tap the icon you want—and only the icon you want—every time with ease.
    • Keep in mind that changing your screen resolution could impact the functioning of some of your apps.
  4. Sometimes, a digital assistant can overhear casual conversation and interpret it as a command to call someone—leading to an accidental call, even if your phone is sitting in your pocket. To prevent this from happening, simply go into your phone's settings and make sure your digital assistant is only listening for commands when your phone is unlocked. [6]
    • If your phone has a setting that enables you to return missed calls from the lock screen, turn that off too.
    • Basically, you can figure that any feature designed to make it quicker and easier to call someone is also going to make it easier for you to accidentally call that person.
  5. If your phone is locked but something touches the screen, the unlock screen might come up on the display. If you have a really simple password (such as using all one number), it's pretty likely that something touching your phone could just accidentally enter that password. Making it more complicated just makes it that much less likely that the correct series of characters could be entered randomly by accident. [7]
    • This helps keep your phone more secure in general, in addition to making it harder to accidentally call someone.
  6. Yes, there's an app for that, too—at least for Android phones. Search for "call confirmation" apps on the Google Play store and you'll see several designed to produce a dialog box so that you have to confirm that you actually want to make a call before the call is placed. While it's not entirely foolproof, it at least offers an extra layer of protection. [8]
    • As of 2024, there aren't any similar apps for iPhones unless they're jailbroken.
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      Warnings

      • If you accidentally call an emergency number, such as 911, don't hang up! Stay on the line and let the dispatcher know that you called accidentally and don't require any help. [9]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.iaedjournal.org/pocket-dialing
      2. ↑ https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/your-cell-phone-10-times-dirtier-toilet-seat-heres-what-do-about-it
      3. ↑ https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/state/top5_2002.html
      4. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3060353/
      5. ↑ https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-prevent-butt-dials-iphone-android-device
      6. ↑ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/dont-pull-a-rudy-giuliani-prevent-butt-dialing-with-these-5-tips/
      7. ↑ https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-prevent-butt-dials-iphone-android-device
      8. ↑ https://www.iaedjournal.org/pocket-dialing
      9. ↑ https://www.iaedjournal.org/pocket-dialing

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