How to Do TikTok's Viral "Pass the Phone" Challenge

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Jump into the latest TikTok trend that’s all about roasting your friends

Co-authored by Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: November 20, 2025 Fact Checked

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Challenge Explained

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Origin

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How to Do It

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Challenge Ideas

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Video

If you’ve been on TikTok, you’ve probably seen people saying, “I’m passing the phone to someone who…” It’s part of the Pass the Phone Challenge, a fun viral trend that’s all about roasting your friends, and which started in 2021. We’ll tell you more about it and how it started, as well as how to participate with your own friends.

What is the Pass the Phone Challenge?

The Pass the Phone Challenge is a viral TikTok trend where people record themselves roasting their friends. To do it, people say “I’m passing the phone to someone who…” and then insert a light jab at a friend. Then, they give the phone to that friend, who gets a turn to roast someone else.

Section 1 of 4:

What is the Pass the Phone Challenge?

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“Pass the Phone” is a TikTok trend where friends diss each other. To do the challenge, people record themselves with a group of friends. The first person says, “I’m passing the phone to someone who…” and then they insert a scathing diss about a friend. That friend gets the phone, and they do the same to another friend. Eventually, the video is posted to social media for other people to see and enjoy.^{[1]
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- The challenge is a fun way to roast your friends in a fun, low-stakes format.
- The Pass the Phone challenge is huge, with influencers like Mr. Beast and IShowSpeed getting in on the fun, as well as MLB Players and celebs like Will Smith.
- Example: “I’m passing the phone to someone who thought eggs were vegetarian.”

Section 2 of 4:

Where did the challenge start?

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The challenge became popular in 2021. It’s hard to say who exactly created the challenge, but the earliest significant video about the challenge comes from TikTok user @morganroyyy, who did the challenge with her cheerleading squad in February 2021. The video hit big with more than 600,000 views, popularizing the challenge and inspiring thousands of people to join in and make their own.
- After that, the number of Pass the Phone Challenge videos on TikTok exploded, suggesting this is where the trend really took off.

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Doing the Challenge

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Gather some friends who are down for some light roasting. The Pass the Phone challenge involves making light (but insulting) jabs at your friends, so get together with some people who can take the heat. Grab a single friend and pass the phone back and forth, or gather a large group of friends and let everyone roast each other. There’s no limit to how many people can participate.
- Or, if you’re not in the same room, feel free to just record the first video, then drop it in a group chat and encourage your friends to record their own.
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Say “I’m passing the phone to someone who…” and roast a friend. Record yourself saying the line and filling in the blank. The script is simple! Fill in the blank with something scathing but still joking. The key to roasting your friends is making sure you say something that will make them laugh, too, not just whatever makes people laugh at them. Remember, we’re all having fun, and now isn’t the time for beef.
- Example: “I’m passing the phone to someone who failed his driving test 3 times.”
- Example: “I’m passing the phone to someone who once burnt water.”
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Give that friend the phone and let them roast the next person. Hand the phone to the person you just roasted to give them a turn to fire off their own roast.^{[2]
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Research source} They’ll roast a new person, then hand the phone to them, and the process repeats until everyone’s had a chance to roast someone, and everyone’s been roasted.
- Feel free to record it in one continuous video and edit out the awkward bits (like actually passing the phone) later, or record many little snippets and edit them all together.
Once everyone’s had a turn, use TikTok’s video editor (or use CapCut) to splice together multiple videos until everyone is featured. Then, post the video to TikTok (or your social media of choice) with the hashtag #Passthephone so that other people can watch, enjoy, and share it! You might even go viral.

Section 4 of 4:

Pass the Phone Challenge Ideas

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Use these Pass the Phone lines to get started. Not sure what to say? While it’s best to come up with your own personalized roasts, everyone needs help getting the gears turning now and then. Take a look at these prompt ideas to use as inspiration:
- I’m passing the phone to someone who thought Asia was a country.
- I’m passing the phone to someone who only dates men who look like giraffes.
- I’m passing the phone to someone who still has to check left vs. right on their hands.
- I’m passing the phone to someone who once got sick from drinking CapriSuns.
- I’m passing the phone to someone who can’t make a free throw to save their life.
- I’m passing the phone to someone who faked being sick to get out of lacrosse practice.
- I’m passing the phone to someone who was fired for being on their phone.
- I’m passing the phone to someone who was banned from Chuck E Cheese for attacking Chuck E Cheese.