Why Rick Steves Recommends Phone Lanyards for Anti-Theft Travel

Rick Steves has spent four decades telling North Americans how not to get cleaned out in Europe. So when he says tether your phone to your body before you get on the plane, people listen. His recent piece in Travel + Leisure on avoiding pickpockets put phone crossbody lanyards in front of millions of travelers and specifically named two brands. Phone Loops wasn't one of them. That's worth acknowledging.

Why Rick Steves Endorsing Phone Lanyards Is a Big Deal

Rick Steves is not an influencer. He's not chasing trends, he's not doing brand deals, and he's not trying to go viral. He's been the most trusted name in European travel for over 40 years. A PBS series. A publishing company. A tour operation that's moved hundreds of thousands of people through exactly the situations where travelers get caught off guard. When he tells you to do something, it's because he's watched what happens when you don't.

His Travel + Leisure piece on pickpocket prevention lands on a simple conclusion: keeping your phone loose in your hand or back pocket in a crowded tourist area is a mistake. Barcelona's Las Ramblas. Rome's Colosseum. Prague's Old Town Square. The pickpocket economy in major European cities runs on distracted tourists holding expensive smartphones. His solution was specific: use a crossbody phone tether to keep your device physically attached to your body.

This is real validation for the category. Phone lanyards and straps have been growing as everyday carry and fashion accessories for years now, but travel security is a different buyer with different priorities. They're not looking at the strap and thinking about whether it matches their outfit. They're thinking about the $1,300 iPhone in their hand and the person who bumped into them on the metro.

When a voice with Steves's track record says "this is what you need before your next international trip," it shifts the product from nice-to-have to obvious purchase. That's the weight of the endorsement. And it raises a real question for anyone who reads it: which phone lanyard should I actually buy?

What Got Recommended, and What Didn't Make the List

The Travel + Leisure piece highlighted two products: Cacao crossbody phone lanyard and Moko phone leash. At first glance, both do the same thing, keep your phone tethered to your body so it's harder to lose or steal. But the way each one approaches the job is completely different.

Cacao leans hard into the fashion angle. The designs are meant to read as accessories or jewelry first, security tools second. They're visually distinctive, which matters if you want the strap to be part of how you look. Moko takes the opposite approach: utilitarian, affordable, clearly built around function over form. It does the job without trying to be anything else.

Most phone lanyard brands live at one pole or the other: fashion-first or pure function. The thing is, most people want both without having to choose. Both work fine for a two-week trip to Italy. But they each lock you into a design philosophy, and that's the thing, the travel problem Steves identifies is just the acute version of what everyone deals with daily: how do you keep your phone on you without having to think about it?

Phone Loops wasn't in that article. That's a fact worth acknowledging. It's also worth being direct about what's different, and why the anti-theft phone conversation doesn't start and stop with those two recommendations.

Phone Loops vs. Cacao vs. Moko: The Comparison That Matters

When you're picking a phone tether for travel, compatibility matters immediately. Both Cacao and Moko tie into a specific case, you replace your current one and commit to their ecosystem. If you're already attached to a case you like, or running an iPhone caseless to preserve the form factor, they don't work. Phone Loops anchors directly to your phone or any case you own. Universal fit, no proprietary ecosystem.

But everyday usability is actually the bigger factor, and it's where most people go wrong. The best travel gear is gear you've already been using. If your phone lanyard only lives in your suitcase, you're going to spend day one on your trip figuring out how it clips and adjusts. You'll leave it at the hotel on day three. Phone Loops is built for Tuesday morning commutes and weekend errands because it earns its place in regular use. By the time you're walking through a crowded market in Lisbon, wearing it is automatic. That's the whole difference.

Durability matters too. Phone Loops straps are fine-woven polyester, built for actual repetitive use, friction, movement, bag pulls, gym sessions. A strap that looks shredded after six months of travel is not one you can trust. Finally, style: Cacao if you want the strap to look like an accessory. Moko if you want it invisible. Phone Loops lands in the middle, minimal, clean, something you'd wear around town without thinking twice.

The Real Anti-Theft Playbook for Travelers

Rick Steves is right about the core principle: keep your phone attached to your body. But a good strap is only part of what makes this actually work in practice.

Wear the strap crossbody in high-risk areas, not just from the wrist. Wrist carry is great for everyday use. But in a packed tourist zone, transit hub, or outdoor market, crossbody positioning keeps the phone against your torso. A grab is harder to execute and immediately obvious because you feel the tension. Phone Loops straps are long enough to wear either way, so you can switch based on where you are and what you're doing.

Know how the strap works before you leave. The worst place to figure out how your phone lanyard adjusts is standing at baggage claim after a red-eye. Use it for a few weeks before the trip. By the time you're navigating an unfamiliar city, the strap is invisible. You're not thinking about it. That's exactly where you want to be.

Be deliberate about when you pull the phone out. A tether prevents theft by grab or drop. It doesn't prevent someone reading your screen in a crowd. Keep your phone activity minimal in transit, and be aware of your surroundings when you do pull it out. The strap handles the physical security. You handle the situational awareness.

The spots Steves flags as high risk, busy tourist attractions, public transit, outdoor markets, restaurant patios, are exactly where hands-free carry matters most. Phone on your body, hands free, not an easy target. That shift in your setup changes how you move through a crowded place.

Use the strap daily, not just on travel days. That's the philosophy behind Phone Loops. The best security habit is one that's already automatic.

The Strap You Actually Keep Using After You Get Home

The Rick Steves moment is a signal. What it says is that mainstream travel culture is catching up to something the everyday carry world has known for a while: your phone should be on your body, not in your hand or pocket.

Cacao and Moko are products built for that specific travel anxiety. You order them, they arrive with your travel adapter and neck pillow, they do their job for two weeks, and then they go in a drawer. That's not a knock on them. That's just what they're designed for.

Phone Loops is designed for the other 350 days of the year too. Fine-woven polyester straps that anchor directly to your phone or any case you own. Multiple colors and designs so you pick what actually fits how you dress. Wrist or crossbody carry depending on the situation. Under $30 for something you use daily.

The actual pitch is not "buy this for your trip to Europe." It's "buy this because your phone is always in your hand and it shouldn't be." The trip to Europe is just the moment that makes the risk obvious. The risk exists every day, in your city, on your commute, at the concert, at the coffee shop. The strap pays off everywhere.

When you get back from Barcelona, you're still wearing it on the morning subway. That's the product that's worth buying. Rick Steves is right. Get a phone tether. Just make sure you get one you'll still want on your wrist when you land back home.

FAQ

Did Rick Steves endorse Phone Loops for anti-theft travel?

Rick Steves endorsed phone crossbody tethers as an anti-theft strategy in a Travel + Leisure piece on pickpocket prevention. He specifically highlighted Cacao and Moko. Phone Loops wasn't mentioned. This post compares Phone Loops to those two options and explains why it's worth considering, especially if you want a strap you'll actually use every day, not just when you're traveling.

What is the best phone lanyard for anti-theft travel?

The best phone lanyard for travel is the one you'll actually wear. Cacao is a strong pick if fashion-forward design matters to you. Moko works if you want something purely functional at a low price. Phone Loops is worth considering if you want universal compatibility with any phone or case, durable everyday-carry construction, and a design that works both at home and on the road.

How do phone lanyards prevent pickpocketing?

A phone lanyard keeps your device physically tethered to your body. If someone tries to grab it, you feel the resistance immediately instead of noticing after they're gone. Crossbody carry presses the phone against your torso, which makes a quick grab significantly harder to pull off in a crowd. Rick Steves highlights this specifically for busy tourist attractions, public transit, and outdoor markets in European cities.

Do Phone Loops straps require a specific phone case?

No. Phone Loops uses a self-adhesive anchor that attaches directly to your phone or to any case you already own. No proprietary case required. That's the key difference from Cacao and Moko, which both lock into specific cases. Phone Loops works on iPhones, Android phones, and any case in your existing setup.

Is a wrist strap or crossbody lanyard better for travel security?

Both have their place. Wrist carry is great for everyday use in familiar environments. For travel in high-risk pickpocket zones, crossbody positioning offers more security because the phone stays against your torso and a grab attempt is immediately noticeable. Phone Loops straps are long enough to wear either way, so you can switch between wrist and crossbody depending on where you are.

Shop Phone Loops before your next trip