You’ve probably noticed that this blog isn’t just about organizing your digital world, but also about helping you become independent from digital dependencies.
Being independent means asking yourself: what happens if a service suddenly becomes unavailable – or worse, if a device gets lost or stolen?
Would you still be able to react, recover important data, or access it through another means?
This isn’t a theoretical scenario. We rely on our smartphones every single day – and only realize how dependent we are when they’re suddenly gone.
The Stress Test: A Day Without a Phone
A good “stress test” for your digital self-sufficiency is this question:
Can I manage without my phone – at least for a short time?
Your smartphone usually holds extremely important data and applications: banking apps, password managers, 2FA codes, contacts, and maybe even documents or notes.
Without access to them, you’ll run into problems fast. Be honest: do you know all the important phone numbers by heart?
I don’t even know my own number – partly because I change it often (see Protect Your Data: Exercising Your Rights Against Privacy Violations).
Step 1: Secure Important Numbers
Write down the most important phone numbers:
- Emergency contacts (family, partner, friends)
- Local fire department, police, company security, etc.
You should memorize the most important ones. For all others, an analog notebook is enough – as long as you can reach them even without your phone.
Step 2: Sort Your Apps – What Really Matters?
Before you start dealing with backups or access recovery, take inventory first.
Go through your smartphone app by app and think about how important access to each one really is.
This will help you later decide where the effort of securing access is truly worth it – and where you can relax.
Essentially, your apps can be divided into three categories: critical, important, and unimportant.
Critical Apps
These are applications you absolutely need access to – immediately.
If you lose them, you’ll quickly find yourself unable to act in daily life.
Examples:
- Banking apps and TAN generators
- Password managers
- 2FA or TOTP authenticators
- Business logins or central email accounts
If lost: You can no longer log in, make payments, or may even lose access to accounts.
Important Apps
These contain valuable but not time-critical data.
Losing them would be annoying, but not an emergency.
Examples:
- Photos and videos
- Contacts
- Notes, documents, to-do lists
If lost: Data loss – but usually restorable, assuming you have a backup.
Unimportant Apps
These include all applications whose loss has no real consequences.
If they’re gone, you simply reinstall them.
Examples:
- Games (e.g., Duolingo)
- Streaming apps
- Recipe apps
- Social media tools
If lost: Practically none. Most data is already linked to your account or easily replaceable.
Step 3: How to Handle the Different App Types
Critical apps deserve your highest priority.
If you lose them, access must not be lost permanently.
What you should do:
- Test alternative access: Is there a web version or desktop app? If yes, set it up and try it out.
- Secure passwords twice: Use a second password manager or export them in encrypted form to a secure, offline storage device.
- Secure 2FA/TOTP apps:
- Enable backup or export functions.
- Test whether you can actually restore a backup on another device.
- Store recovery codes physically: Print them or keep an encrypted note in a safe.
- Do a test run: Simulate losing your phone – can you still access your banking app, password manager, and key accounts?
A second device (e.g., a work phone) can help maintain access to critical apps as a form of backup. However, remember that both devices are mobile – and could be lost together.
For important but non-critical apps, the focus is on data backup.
You don’t need immediate access, but you must make sure nothing is lost.
What you should do:
- Set up regular backups:
- Once locally (e.g., on a laptop or external hard drive)
- Once in the cloud (e.g., Nextcloud, iCloud, Google Drive, etc.)
- Enable synchronization: Use automatic backups when possible, but make sure they are encrypted.
- Separate storage locations: At least two different ones – local and external – protect you from both device failure and data loss.
In short (explained in more detail in the previous blog post, How to Organize Your Digital Media):
Back up your data twice – once locally, once in the cloud.
When it comes to unimportant apps, there’s no real need for action.
If you lose your phone, simply reinstall them and log in again.
You might even use this as an opportunity to declutter:
- Which apps do you actually use regularly?
- Which ones just sit there taking up storage space?
Less clutter not only frees up space on your device, but also helps reduce distractions.
| App Type | Description | Examples | Consequence if Lost | Recommended Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | Essential apps you need immediately to stay functional. | Banking, password manager, 2FA, email, business logins | No access to accounts or payments. | Set up alternative access; Back up passwords twice; Store 2FA backups & recovery codes offline; Test loss scenario once |
| Important | Contain valuable but not time-critical data. | Photos, contacts, notes, documents | Data loss – usually recoverable with backup. | Regular local & cloud backups; Enable automatic encrypted synchronization |
| Unimportant | Loss has no real impact – easily reinstalled. | Games, streaming, recipes, social media | None or minimal impact. | Use opportunity to declutter |
The Result : More Peace of Mind, Less Dependence
If you follow these steps, you’ll notice that you no longer feel helpless without your phone.
You’ll know that you can still act even if your smartphone is lost, stolen, or temporarily out of order.And that’s exactly the point:
Not just creating order in your digital world – but achieving digital independence.
Checklist
- Memorize the most important phone numbers and write all other important ones down in an analog notebook.
- Go through all the apps on your smartphone and divide them into critical, important, and unimportant categories.
- Secure access to your critical apps by testing alternative logins, backing up passwords twice, and storing recovery codes in physical form.
- Set up regular backups for your important data – once locally and once in the cloud.
- Simulate the loss of your phone and check whether you can still access your most important accounts and data.