The willingness of victims to report crimes is declining, which leads to an increase in the dark figure and undermines effective crime control. Nowadays, a mobile phone holds vast amounts of information that may be valuable for police forensic experts, showing that victims’ phones could be critical in crime investigations. This interview study has determined the factors that influence Swedish citizens’ willingness to report crimes when reporting involves surrendering their own mobile phones for forensic analysis. The study also uncovered factors that increase their willingness to report crimes under the same circumstances. The gathered data was subjected to a qualitative analysis and thematic coding, resulting in four distinct themes with 12 categories distributed among them. The analysis reveals that the primary factors affecting Swedish citizens’ willingness to report crimes are privacy concerns, with participants feeling uneasy about others accessing their private data, and anxiety over being separated from their mobile phones. Furthermore, the study indicates that the most significant factors for increasing the willingness to report crimes are enhanced information and transparency from the police, with participants suggesting that better understanding of the process and increased openness would increase their willingness to report.