Samsung phone flashlights melting plastic? Viral videos don't tell the full story

Viral videos showing Samsung phones melting plastic with their flashlights are blowing up on social media again. One TikTok clip alone (see below) has racked up over 13 million views, showing a Galaxy S25 FE torch burning through a thin black garbage bag.

While these videos might look alarming, Galaxy phone flashlights burning through plastic isn’t a new discovery, and it’s not even limited to Samsung’s devices.

People have been posting similar videos for over a year, but social media algorithms seem to have pushed the trend back into the spotlight recently.

Folks over at Tom’s Guide also picked up on the trend and decided to try it themselves using the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Their results show that both phones were able to melt a plastic trash bag when the flashlight was set to maximum brightness, unlike what some of these viral videos claim.

The Galaxy phone did it slightly faster, but the iPhone still managed to burn a hole through the plastic. In other words, this isn’t a Samsung problem; it’s likely something most modern smartphone flashlights can replicate when left on for extended periods.

While modern phones use very powerful LED flash modules for better photography, the added brightness can also lead to more heat when the light is concentrated in a small area. This can lead to the kind of burns shown in these viral clips.

Samsung is already aware of this behavior, and its phones even display a warning when the flashlight is used at maximum brightness. However, in real life, it’s easy to forget a flashlight is on or accidentally trigger it in your pocket.

So while the viral videos certainly make the issue look more dramatic than it is, they are still a good reminder that your phone’s flashlight is probably not something you want pressed up against a plastic bag or synthetic materials for long.

Thanks for the tip, Compare and Recycle