Phone Dependency Test
How tightly is your phone gripping you?
Published by the Healthio+ editorial team · Based on Adapted from the Smartphone Addiction Scale — Short Version (SAS-SV).
How we build our tests →Answer how much you agree with each statement about your phone use. Nothing you enter is saved or linked to you.
This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Results are for self-reflection only. Only a licensed professional can diagnose a condition.
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About the Phone Dependency Test
Also known as: phone addiction test, smartphone addiction test, phone dependency quiz, SAS-SV smartphone addiction scale.
This is a free phone addiction test — a short, private self-check on how much your smartphone is pulling at your attention, your focus and your sleep.
It is adapted from the Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version (SAS-SV), developed by Kwon and colleagues and published in PLOS ONE in 2013. The SAS-SV has 10 items scored from 1 to 6, giving a total between 10 and 60, and showed strong internal consistency in validation (Cronbach's alpha 0.91). It has since been translated and re-validated in more than a dozen countries.
One honest limitation: the SAS-SV was originally developed and validated with adolescents, with an average age of about 14. It is widely used with adults too, but that is worth knowing when you read your score.
This test is a free, anonymous online screening you can complete in about three minutes. It has 10 questions and is adapted from Adapted from the Smartphone Addiction Scale — Short Version (SAS-SV). Your answers are scored privately in your browser — nothing is saved or linked to you — and you get an instant result framed for self-reflection rather than as a diagnosis.
Signs and symptoms of Phone Dependency
The scale asks about a specific cluster of experiences. These are the patterns it looks for:
- Missing planned work or study because of phone use.
- Losing concentration at work or in class because of your phone.
- Physical strain — pain in your wrists or neck from how much you use it.
- Feeling unable to cope with not having your phone on you.
- Impatience and restlessness when you are separated from it.
- Having your phone on your mind even when you are not using it.
- Checking constantly so you do not miss anything.
- Using it far longer than you intended to.
- Other people commenting that you use it too much.
- It being the first thing you touch in the morning and the last at night.
Who is this test for?
Anyone who has been noticing these feelings or patterns and wants a structured, private way to reflect on them. It's a starting point for people wondering whether what they're experiencing is worth paying attention to — not a way to label or diagnose yourself. It is not suitable for anyone in crisis or in need of urgent help — if that's you, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis line right away.
How to read your results
Low (score 10–25)
Your phone use looks manageable. You can put it down without much pull.
Moderate (score 26–42)
Your phone has a fair grip on your attention. Grayscale mode, charging it outside the bedroom, and app limits are simple, effective resets.
High (score 43–60)
Your responses suggest strong phone dependency that's likely affecting focus, sleep, or your body. Deliberate boundaries make a real difference — start with one phone-free window a day.
Where this test comes from
This screening is adapted from Adapted from the Smartphone Addiction Scale — Short Version (SAS-SV). We keep the original questions and validated scoring intact and add plain-language explanations of what each result means. You can read our full process, including how we handle sources and sensitive topics, in how we build our tests.
What to do with your result
Whatever your result, treat it as information, not a verdict. If it resonates, it can be a useful thing to bring to a doctor or mental-health professional — they can see the full picture a short questionnaire can't. Feelings and circumstances change, so retaking the test after a few weeks can also show whether things are shifting over time.
Frequently asked questions
What score means phone addiction?
There is no score on this page that diagnoses anything. For reference, the original SAS-SV study estimated a cut-off of 31 for men and 33 for women, out of a possible 60 — but that was a research threshold for screening, not a clinical diagnosis, and it came from a study of adolescents. Treat your score as a prompt to reflect, not a verdict.
Is phone addiction a real diagnosis?
No. "Smartphone addiction" is not a recognised diagnosis in the DSM-5, and neither is phone dependency. Researchers study it as a behavioural pattern using validated scales like the SAS-SV, and the difficulties it describes — lost focus, disrupted sleep, restlessness without the device — are real even though the label is not a formal diagnostic category.
What is the SAS-SV?
The Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version is a 10-item research questionnaire developed by Kwon, Kim, Cho and Yang, published in PLOS ONE in 2013. Each item is rated from 1 to 6, producing a total between 10 and 60. It is one of the most widely used measures of problematic smartphone use and has been validated in many languages.
How do I stop being on my phone so much?
Small structural changes tend to beat willpower. Charging the phone outside the bedroom removes the first-and-last-thing-of-the-day habit, greyscale mode makes the screen less rewarding, and one deliberate phone-free window a day is easier to sustain than a total cut-back. If phone use is displacing sleep specifically, that pattern has a name — revenge bedtime procrastination — and it usually responds better to protecting time earlier in the evening than to going to bed earlier.
Is the Phone Dependency Test free?
Yes — completely free. No signup, no email, and no paywall. Healthio+ currently carries no advertising at all.
Is this test anonymous, and is my data saved?
It's fully anonymous. Your answers are scored entirely in your browser and are never sent to us or stored anywhere. We keep only an anonymous count of how many people take each test, plus which browser family was used and which site you arrived from — never who took it or how they answered.
Is this test a diagnosis?
No. This is a screening tool for self-reflection, not a medical or psychological diagnosis. No online test can diagnose you. If your result resonates, consider speaking with a qualified doctor or mental-health professional.
How long does this test take?
About three minutes. It has 10 questions and gives you an instant result the moment you finish.
What is this test based on?
Adapted from the Smartphone Addiction Scale — Short Version (SAS-SV).