Viral video shows Samsung phone melting plastic, but there’s more to it

Viral videos are again going viral on social media in which Samsung phones are shown melting plastic with a flashlight. One TikTok clip alone (see below), which shows a Galaxy S25 FE flashlight burning through a thin black garbage bag, has been viewed more than 13 million times.

While these videos may seem worrying, Galaxy phone flashlights burning through plastic aren’t a new discovery, and it’s not limited to Samsung devices.

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

friends here tom’s guide Also picked up on this trend and decided to try it myself using a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Their results showed that when the flashlight was set to maximum brightness, both phones were able to melt plastic garbage bags, which was contrary to the claims in some of these viral videos.

The Galaxy phones did it a little faster, but the iPhone still managed to put a hole in the plastic. In other words, this isn’t Samsung’s problem; It’s possible that most modern smartphone flashlights can mimic this if left on for a long period of time.

While modern phones use very powerful LED flash modules for better photography, the extra brightness can cause overheating when the light is concentrated in a small area. This can cause the type of irritation shown in these viral clips.

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

So while the viral videos certainly over-dramatize the issue, they’re still a good reminder that your phone’s flashlight probably isn’t something you want to hold up to a plastic bag or synthetic material for long periods of time.