- 97% cite smartphones as their primary source of evidence, up 24 points from 2024
- 95% agree that digital evidence increases creditworthiness, but 94% say complexity weighs on workload
- 65% believe AI can speed up investigations, but a third say policies prevent its use
- Cloud receptivity has reached 42%, but two-thirds still rely on physical media
TYSONS CORNER, Virginia and PETAH TIKVA, Israel, February 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cellebrite (NASDAQ: CLBT), a global leader in AI-powered digital investigation and intelligence solutions for the public and private sectors, today unveiled its Industry Trends Report 2026which surveyed 1,200 practitioners in 63 countries, marking the company’s seventh annual report on how organizations collect, manage and analyze digital evidence.
Smartphones: essential for investigations
Smartphones are more relevant to investigations than ever, with 97% of investigators citing them as the primary source of digital evidence, an increase of 24 points from 73% in 2024. This increase reflects public expectations, as 97% of agency leaders say communities expect digital evidence to be used in most cases.
AI adoption: strong interest, uneven political support
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly important technology for improving the speed and efficiency of investigations. Sixty-five percent of public safety respondents believe AI can speed up investigations, but nearly a third say their agency’s policies prevent its use. Two-thirds of respondents cite review time as the biggest barrier to transferring records, but AI can solve this problem, with respondents recognizing that one of its best features is quickly analyzing communications to identify connections between people.
Public safety: Capacity strained as digital evidence becomes universal
Public safety findings show that 95% of respondents agree that digital evidence increases the resolvability of cases, while 94% say the complexity strains caseloads. However, only 62% of agency leaders are shifting resources from traditional to digital methods. This gap between recognition and action highlights the modernization challenge agencies face.
“The relationship between the public and the police is fundamental,” said Matt Scott, Britain’s Police and Crime Commissioner. “As new technologies are introduced, it is important to obtain public consent and put appropriate safeguards in place to ensure decision-making remains in the hands of officers and staff.
“Digital evidence is increasingly the starting point for our investigations,” said James Howe, a detective with the Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police. “This modern reality is leading us to rethink our workflows within the agency, not just in the laboratory. Digital evidence shapes the way our cases are built from day one.
“It is clear that digital evidence is the backbone of modern justice,” said David Gee, CMO of 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 the accuracy and ensuring the defensibility of the evidence the justice system relies on.
Cloud Adoption Rises as Evidence Sharing Risks Persist
Using the cloud to store and share digital evidence is becoming increasingly essential for agencies of all sizes. Cloud receptiveness for digital evidence management reached 42% in 2026, up from 38% in 2025. Yet physical media remains the default option, with two-thirds of respondents still sharing evidence via portable hard drives and USB drives, creating chain-of-custody risks and slowing cross-agency collaboration.
Private sector: digital surveys are essential to business
Private sector results show that investigations are being integrated across business operations, with a clear shift in AI adoption from strategic intent to practical application.
- Top use cases: eDiscovery (54%), data theft (46%), and network exploits (44%)
- Mobile data appears in 66% of surveys; computer storage and cloud data each appear in 46%
- 57% say AI-powered communication analytics accelerates results
“Organizations want to be better prepared, which is why investigations are no longer just about reacting after an event occurs,” said Colin Duncan, e-discovery technologist at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP. “It is essential to gain a clear understanding of data across systems, devices and applications in a consistent and defensible manner. When used responsibly, AI allows teams to accelerate their work without compromising control or accountability.
Implications for Cellebrite
These trends have supported the strong adoption of Guardian, Cellebrite’s investigative evidence and case management platform, primarily among state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, as well as Latin America and the United Kingdom. In 2025, Guardian saw triple-digit year-over-year growth in customers, users and data stored on the platform and was also recently made available to enterprise customers.
For more information, read Cellebrite’s 2026 Industry Trends Reports for Public safety and the Private sector.
References to websites and social media platforms
References to information included on or accessible through websites and social media platforms are not an incorporation by reference of the information contained on or available through such websites or social media platforms, and you should not consider such information to be part of this press release.
About Cellebrite
Cellebrite’s (Nasdaq: CLBT) mission is to protect communities, nations and businesses as a global leader in digital investigative and intelligence solutions. More than 7,000 law enforcement agencies, defense and intelligence organizations and companies around the world trust Cellebrite’s portfolio of AI-powered software to make digital forensic data more accessible and actionable. Cellebrite technology enables customers to accelerate more than 1.5 million legally sanctioned investigations each year, improve sovereign security, elevate operational effectiveness and efficiency, and enable advanced mobile search and application security. Available through cloud, on-premises and hybrid deployments, Cellebrite’s technology enables customers around the world to advance their missions, improve public safety and protect data privacy. To learn more, visit us at www.cellebrite.com.
Media contact
Victor Cooper
Senior Director of Corporate Communications
victor.cooper@cellebrite.com
+1 404.804.5910
Investor Relations
Andrew Kramer
Vice President, Investor Relations
investors@cellebrite.com
+1 973.206.7760
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