The Bathroom Phone Habit Spanish People Follow That Americans Would Find Disgusting

And what it reveals about intimacy, informality, and the radically different ways people relate to private space

There are certain rules Americans grow up with that feel unspoken, but universal. Don’t take phone calls in the bathroom. Don’t bring your phone to the table. Don’t let someone hear you flush. If you must use your phone while in the bathroom, be subtle — or silent. And above all, do not answer a call mid-toilet use.

But in Spain? That rule doesn’t exist.

Not only do many Spanish people bring their phones into the bathroom, but they’ll answer calls, chat casually, and sometimes even video call a friend or family member while sitting on the toilet — all without embarrassment.

For American visitors, it’s one of the most shocking, and frankly, off-putting cultural differences. And yet, in Spain, it’s just another sign of how personal space is handled differently — more casually, more communally, and without layers of performance.

Here’s why the bathroom phone habit is completely normal in Spain — and why it would horrify many Americans, who still treat the bathroom as a zone of total social silence.

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1. Talking on the Phone While on the Toilet Isn’t a Secret

In the United States, even a background flush during a phone call is enough to ruin the moment. People mute. They apologize. They pretend it didn’t happen.

In Spain, people might keep talking straight through it.

You’re on the phone with a friend, and you hear an unmistakable echo. A pause. A toilet flush. Then: “Perdona, I just had to pee.”

There’s no shame. No weird tension. No hiding.

To Americans, this feels disgusting — unhygienic, rude, unthinkable.

To Spaniards, it’s just the body doing its job. And the conversation doesn’t stop just because nature calls.

2. Video Calls in the Bathroom Aren’t Outrageous

This one truly shocks American visitors.

It’s not uncommon in Spain — especially among younger people or family members — to take a casual video call while in the bathroom.

Not while showing anything graphic. But maybe sitting on the toilet, chatting with a cousin, or FaceTiming while putting on makeup with the toilet lid down.

It’s not treated as scandalous. It’s just a sign of closeness.

In American culture, where video calls are framed and staged and background-sanitized, this level of proximity feels deeply inappropriate.

But in Spain, if someone trusts you enough to answer your call from the bathroom, it might be the highest form of comfort.

3. Family Members Call Each Other from the Bathroom — And Keep Talking

In many American households, if someone calls you from the bathroom, it’s a mistake — or a punchline.

In Spain, parents call their children from the toilet. Teens call siblings while sitting in the bathtub. Roommates yell updates through the door.

The bathroom is not a sacred, off-limits space. It’s part of the flow of the home. And using a phone while you’re in there? Totally fine.

No one is pretending to be “somewhere else.” The bathroom is part of life, and life continues.

4. No One Assumes the Phone Itself Is Now Contaminated

In American culture, there’s a near-obsession with the hygiene of objects. Phones are wiped down. Toilet seats are feared. People panic about germs traveling through space.

In Spain, the mentality is more relaxed.

Yes, people wash their hands. Yes, they clean their bathrooms. But they don’t assume their phone has become a biohazard just because they used it in the bathroom.

They don’t switch to speakerphone to avoid holding it near their face. They don’t panic about setting it on the sink. It’s a phone — and it’s part of real life.

5. Bathroom Privacy Is Real — But Less Fragile

American bathroom behavior is full of rituals designed to avoid embarrassment.

Water running while peeing. Music to cover noise. A complex ballet of “who goes first” in multi-bathroom households.

In Spain, bathroom privacy is respected — but it’s less delicate.

You can joke about it. You can talk through the door. You can answer a call while in there and say, “Dame un segundo — I’m peeing.”

No one panics. No one imagines their social status collapsing. It’s just the bathroom.

6. Public Bathrooms Aren’t “Quiet Zones”

In the U.S., public restrooms are often hushed, almost solemn spaces. People lower their voices. They wait for hand dryers to cover sounds. Everyone pretends no one else is there.

In Spain, you’ll hear conversations, laughter, music playing on speakers, and yes — people on their phones.

Not loud. Not obnoxious. But present.

If someone’s in the next stall talking to their partner about dinner plans? That’s fine.

If a friend picks up your call and says, “Hold on, I’m in the bathroom,” and keeps talking? Also fine.

No one treats it as a violation of social etiquette.

7. Toilet Talk Isn’t Taboo

Many American households treat bathroom topics as unspeakable. You don’t mention it at dinner. You don’t joke about it in polite company.

In Spain, bathroom talk is unremarkable. Parents joke about kids taking too long. Friends talk about bowel habits casually. Public conversation might reference peeing mid-road trip or needing to “buscar un baño ya.”

So if someone’s on the toilet and still chatting with their friend, it’s not because they’re disrespectful. It’s because the act itself isn’t shameful.

8. Phones Are Extensions of Life — Not Presentation Tools

In the U.S., the phone has become a performance device. It’s where you present a version of yourself. Even a casual FaceTime call often includes checking angles, framing, sound, background.

In Spain, the phone is still a tool of connection, not performance.

If you’re talking to your mom and happen to be in the bathroom? You answer. If you’re texting your partner from the tub? No problem. If you call your friend from the toilet and chat for five minutes before saying, “OK, I should flush now,” it’s not strange. It’s normal.

The phone exists to carry your life — not mask it.

9. Disgust Isn’t Assigned to the Body So Easily

At the root of it all is this: Americans often see the bathroom as a place of disgust. You don’t mention it. You don’t overlap it with other parts of life.

In Spain, the body isn’t so easily grossed out. Bodily functions are just that — functions.

The bathroom is one place among many. It’s not sacred. It’s not unspeakable. It’s not a zone that invalidates communication.

So if you’re having a conversation and nature calls? You take the phone with you, finish your thought, flush, and wash your hands.

It’s not disgusting. It’s human.

One Habit, Two Reactions

To Americans, the bathroom phone habit feels wrong.
To Spaniards, it feels honest.

To Americans, it’s about violating boundaries.
To Spaniards, it’s about removing unnecessary ones.

In the U.S., the bathroom is isolated. In Spain, it’s integrated.

And for a culture that doesn’t shy away from what bodies do, what friends talk about, or what homes sound like behind closed doors — taking a call from the toilet is not a breach of etiquette.

It’s just Tuesday afternoon, and your cousin needed to ask you about dinner.