Smartphones now drive digital evidence in criminal cases

Smartphones have become the leading source of digital evidence in criminal investigations, cited in 97% of cases, according to a new global survey of digital forensics practitioners.

The findings come from Cellebrite's latest industry trends report, based on responses from 1,200 practitioners across 63 countries. Reliance on mobile devices rose sharply, up 24 percentage points from 73% in 2024.

Investigators increasingly treat phone data as a starting point rather than a supplementary source. Public expectations also appear to be rising: 97% of agency managers said they believe communities expect digital evidence to be used in most cases.

Mounting complexity

Public safety respondents broadly agreed that digital evidence makes cases more solvable, with 95% saying it increases solvability. At the same time, 94% said the growing complexity of digital evidence is straining caseloads.

That pressure is not leading to rapid organisational change. Only 62% of agency leaders reported shifting resources from legacy methods to digital approaches, pointing to gaps in staffing, training and process redesign as evidence volumes grow.

Review time emerged as a key operational bottleneck. Two-thirds of respondents cited it as the biggest barrier to progressing cases, underscoring the workload across investigative teams and labs-especially when agencies must manage large volumes of messages, media files and app data.

AI policies

Artificial intelligence is increasingly seen as a way to work faster, but policy constraints remain a barrier. In the survey, 65% of public safety respondents said they believe AI can accelerate investigations, while nearly one-third said their agency's policies prevent its use.

Communications analysis stood out as a prominent AI use case. Respondents said one of AI's strongest capabilities is quickly analysing communications and identifying links between people.

Concerns about governance and public consent also feature in the report's discussion of automation in policing. "The relationship between the public and the police is fundamental," said Matt Scott, UK Police and Crime Commissioner. "As new technology is introduced, it is important that the public's consent is sought and that appropriate safeguards are put in place to ensure that decision making remains in the hands of officers and staff. Any use of AI or automation in policing should follow consultation with the public and be applied only where appropriate and where it can responsibly support productivity."

Digital first

Several practitioners described investigations that now start with digital sources. "Digital evidence is increasingly where our investigations begin," said James Howe, Detective, Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police. "This modern reality has us rethinking our workflows across the agency, not just in the lab. Digital evidence shapes how our cases are built from day one."

From a technology supplier perspective, Cellebrite framed data growth as a forcing function for adopting new tools and processes. "It's clear digital evidence is the backbone of modern justice," said David Gee, Chief Marketing Officer at Cellebrite. "Today's investigations involve an exponential explosion of devices, data and complexity that agencies must manage. Their only choice to evolve is to mobilize and leverage technology that will help them process evidence efficiently, while preserving accuracy and ensuring the defensibility of evidence on which the justice system relies."

Cloud adoption

The report points to uneven progress in evidence storage and sharing. Receptiveness to cloud-based digital evidence management reached 42% in 2026, up from 38% in 2025. Even so, physical media remains common, with two-thirds of respondents saying they still share evidence using portable hard drives and USB sticks.

These practices can increase risks around tracking and access control as evidence moves between teams and agencies. They can also slow cross-agency collaboration, particularly when large files require manual transfer and re-ingestion into separate systems.

Private sector use

The survey also covered private sector investigations and found digital evidence work is increasingly embedded across business operations. It also identified a shift in AI adoption from planning to implementation.

Among private sector respondents, the top investigation use cases were eDiscovery (54%), data theft (46%) and network exploits (44%). Mobile data appeared in 66% of investigations, while computer storage and cloud data each appeared in 46%.

Private sector respondents also reported benefits from AI-driven analysis, with 57% saying AI-assisted communication analysis accelerates outcomes.

"Organisations want to be better prepared, so investigations are no longer just about reacting after something happens," said Colin Duncan, eDiscovery Technologist at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. "Gaining a clear understanding of data across systems, devices, and applications in a consistent and defensible manner is essential. When used responsibly, AI enables teams to accelerate their work without compromising control or accountability."

Cellebrite also said the trends align with adoption of its Guardian evidence and case management platform among state and local law enforcement agencies in the US, as well as customers in Latin America and the UK. It reported triple-digit year-on-year growth in 2025 for Guardian across customers, users and data stored, and said the platform has recently been made available to enterprise customers.