That headline is partly misleading. Leaving a modern phone charger plugged into an outlet without the phone connected is generally not an immediate fire hazard when the charger is genuine, undamaged, and used correctly. However, there are still a few reasons not to leave one plugged in unnecessarily:
Small amount of electricity use — A charger that isn’t connected to a device can still consume a tiny amount of standby power.
Heat and component aging — Chargers contain electronics that can warm slightly and deteriorate over time, particularly cheap or poorly made units.
Damage and fire risk from faulty equipment — The bigger concern is a damaged cable, cracked charger, loose outlet, overheating, or counterfeit/poor-quality charger. Those can create genuine electrical hazards whether or not a phone is connected.
So the claim “never leave a charger plugged in” is too dramatic. A better safety habit is to unplug chargers when they’re damaged, unusually hot, sparking, or no longer needed, and use reputable chargers and cables.
If the headline is from a specific video or article, send me the three reasons it gives, and I can fact-check each one.
