This happened at work. I (18M) was using my phone normally when a coworker (17-18F) suddenly accused me of taking pictures of her, demanding that I hand over my phone (unlocked, of course) so she could check the gallery. Unfortunately to me, most people around took her side. I told her I wasn’t going to hand over my phone and I wasn't going to let her even touch it.

But I said that instead, we could call the manager to check the security cameras so we could see if I took those photos or not. She got angry and told me that if I had nothing to hide, I should just let her check the phone.

I refused again, and she tried to snatch it from my hands. I pulled away, she almost grabbed it and when I saw more people supporting the idea that I should show the photos. To calm things down I said, “Fine, I’ll unlock it.” but I told her I’d only show her the camera roll, which only had photos of the moon and zoomed-in shots of the environment.

As soon as the phone was unlocked, she tried to snatch it again. I dodged her, and activated a script that basically destroyed all the files on the phone.

While all that was going on, some coworkers had already called the manager. He took a while to arrive, but eventually showed up. The whole situation was explained to him, and he asked me to unlock the phone so he could check it. I told him it couldn’t be checked anymore because of the emergency script wiped all the data. I told him to check the security cameras, they could show weather or not I was taking pictures, due to the angle, he’d be able to see what was on my screen and I told him that if it showed I had taken any photos of her, I’d turn myself in to be fired and handed over to the authorities if they wished.

After checking the footage, it was clear that the angle of my phone made it physically impossible for me to have taken a photo of her. The screen wasn’t clearly visible, but the position and direction proved my innocence.

Later, the manager asked me privately why I had a self-destruct script and acted like I was some kind of hacker or spy. Also told me that destroying the data made me look guilty in frontal of my coworkers. I told him the phone had already been unlocked, and I was about to show her the camera pics but she tried to grab it by force, things became suspicious enough that I wasn’t willing to take any risks.

Once I went back to work as “innocent,” with the cameras backing up my version of events, some coworkers still looked at me weirdly and told me that if I had nothing to hide, there was no reason to delete anything and that I should have just let her check it.

In my judgment, I acted correctly and did the right thing for the following reasons:

A. Due to certain things I’m involved in (nothing illegal or shady, but socially questionable and judged to many), I couldn’t allow anyone especially someone as emotional as her to have access to my unlocked phone, risking them seeing private stuff or even extracting files in the worst case. Even though most of it was encrypted, I preferred not to take any risk.

B. I didn’t even take those photos. My camera was pointed to rhe ground the whole time, and the security footage proved it.

C. There were some decrypted photos of my family and university. With the university’s logo and my major, someone could potentially show up at university. I know this is highly unlikely and borders on ridiculous, but there's always a chance.

Also, only a few people at work know details about my personal life because they’ve proven to be trustworthy neither she nor the people with her were among them.

D. The whole situation with her seemed suspicious from the moment she tried to forcefully access my phone. I mean, why not wait for the manager and let him check? Why try to get in by force?

By wiping the data, I also knew the consequences I knew some would be suspicious of me, and that I might somehow hurt her (if she truly believed I had taken her photo and it wasn’t just a scheme to get into my phone for other reasons). I also knew that maybe, just maybe, I’d get fired. But I preferred that over letting anyone access what I explained in points A and C. I know the idea that she wanted access to the phone for other reasons is unlikely. But again, I preferred not to take any risk.

Edit 1: I want to clarify that I was never unwilling to cooperate. From the start, I suggested involving the manager so the situation could be handled professionally and fairly. I made it clear I was open to having my actions reviewed through proper channels, like management or HR and competent persons to handle the situation. Also, if the cameras demostrated and proved my inoccence. What valid reason was there for me to let someone I don’t trust go through my phone just because she said so?