Phone bans in restaurants and bars are becoming more common as businesses aim to encourage face-to-face interaction and reduce distractions. Some venues use subtle psychological tactics, like placing stickers over phone cameras, while others enforce stricter rules, such as requiring customers to store their phones in locked pouches or even vintage filing cabinets. In certain areas, like prisons, phones are sometimes locked in external cabins due to local laws that prohibit phone possession in such places. Restaurants around the world have experimented with various incentives to encourage customers to comply with phone-free policies. For instance, a restaurant in Verona, Italy, offers a free bottle of wine to patrons who surrender their phones before a meal, and 90% of customers reportedly take advantage of the offer. Other venues implement no-phones policies to enhance the dining experience by focusing on conversation and reducing the presence of devices. Not all customers are on board with these policies. Some express reluctance about leaving their phones behind, citing concerns about safety, communication, or the need for constant connectivity. However, the trend is gaining momentum, with larger restaurant chains starting to adopt similar measures. Pizza Express, for example, introduced phone-free afternoons last summer, and Wetherspoons has required phones to be on silent mode in its locations. Despite the resistance from some, many patrons have shown willingness to comply with phone bans, recognizing the value of human connection over the convenience of smartphone use. As more businesses experiment with these policies, the balance between technology and in-person interaction continues to evolve, reflecting broader societal conversations about the role of digital devices in daily life.