What is iPhone pinky? TikTok health scare explained

TikTokers are freaking out over the viral ‘iPhone pinky’ condition that so many users seem to have developed. So, what the heck is iPhone pinky?

TikTok has had its fair share of health scares in the past. Viral trends emerge that could electrocute you, celebrities eat poisonous plants, and teenagers are unaliving themselves thanks to the chroming challenge.

Still, most of these have nothing to do with the app itself, they’re just shared on it. The latest health scare sweeping TikTok is a ‘deformity’ that people claim comes from using the app for too long. It has been dubbed “iPhone pinky”.

So, what is iPhone Pinky, how are people getting it, and how can you tell if you have it? This explainer will go over everything you need to know about the modern malady.

What is iPhone pinky?

The commonly self-diagnosed condition of iPhone pinky, also called phone pinky, has two major symptoms. The first is a large dent between the two interior knuckles of the pinky finger on your dominant hand. The second is the curving of your entire pinky finger when your hand is at rest.

TikTok users are blaming heavy phone usage, particularly when scrolling the app, for causing this minor deformity. A quick search for phone pinky shows over 163 million posts about the phenomenon and there are plenty of examples from creators who claim to have it themselves.

In the video above, TikToker morg.124 shows off some pretty sizable dents that she attributes to her phone usage. It looks like her followers are suffering too.

“We all got it,” one viewer commented alongside a crying emoji. “Me too girl,” another offered in commiseration.

Fellow TikToker girlboss4lyfe showed off her own pinky finger, pointing to the severe bend as a marker of iPhone Pinky. The footage shocked the 1.4 million viewers that saw the TikTok.

“My jaw hit the floor,” one commented. “I took my pinky out from under my phone so fast,” another added before vowing to change their habits. Plenty of other commenters admitted that they had iPhone pinky themselves.

What do medical professionals say about iPhone pinky?

Presently, there isn’t an official diagnosis for iPhone pinky, and according to Cleveland Clinic Orthopedic Surgeon Dr Peter Evans, pinky anatomy varies wildly. This means that the dents or the resting bend that TikTokers are attributing to iPhone Pinky could be naturally occurring.

“It’s also possible that people who think they have smartphone pinky could have an underlying condition,” Evans noted. “Constant cellphone use can cause a range of joint problems. While some claims of injury might be overstated, others are real and involve serious, long-term damage.”

You may not have ‘iPhone pinky’ but that dent in your finger could still be from frequent phone usage and according to Evans, frequently resting your phone on the pinky can harm the nerves in the finger. So, maybe don’t rest your phone there for good measure.