Bizarre incident on train...

It would be water of a duck's back 🤣

You’re conflating two very different scenarios and tying yourself up in linguistic knots doing it

Not at all, quite the opposite. I'm comparing two identical scenarios. Just two different perpetrators.

Since the OP had an problem with the action of looking at her phone I'm wondering whether she would respond the same regardless, or whether it was specific to this person. And if so, why?

People who say OP was rude seem to be ignoring this bit:

A man comes in and seats next to me, fidgeting and getting a bit too close for comfort. I ignore him.

His nosiness is clearly a gambit. No accounting for the girls, though.

Op has also said the guy was fidgeting and getting too close for comfort - already putting her on alert. This is what our gut instinct is for, women!!

My god, what a lot of handmaidens!!

The bloke was rude for looking at your phone then asking you about a photo. Cheeky bugger. Why not ask a man, look at their phone?! 🙄

Your response was fine.

Shame about the other women in the carriage, that they didn't back you up.

Yes he was a weird creep

but I would not have chastised him as directly as you did - not because you should give a shit about his feelings - but because you should look out for your personal safety. He already showed you he was a weirdo by asking about stuff he was looking at on your phone and invading your space. So I would have avoided potentially antagonising him, for fear of his reaction.

You did exactly the right thing.

Another one tired of male entitlement.

He was very rude to invade your space and start asking about what is in your phone.

If more men were told off, maybe they'd get the hint to stop doing it.

My 70+ mum’s from London, now lives miles away, is incredibly nosy interested in people, and every time she comes to visit us by train we wait to hear about what new best mate she’s made on the journey. But even she wouldn’t lean over to peer at someone’s phone and ask them about it! And if she did, and someone was a bit snappier than needs be asking her not to, then tbh that’s her fault.

I’m sure your mum knows that it’s a step too far as well. But if for some reason she did do it, no one is going to feel threatened or even creeped out by her.

The OP did nothing wrong here - the man wouldn’t have done that to another bloke. (I do tend to think it was probably a distraction attempt.)

Nothing wrong with saying it's private but wrong way of saying it. Just be polite.

Exactly this. I've been 'too friendly' ie. not enough boundaries enforced on public transport before.
You weren't rude, OP

Sounds like an episode from one foot in the grave

I like your style.

Sad to see women defending a creep.

Your Gran would be flamed on here if it was her posting then! (PS that's what my Dad would say!)

The question to ask is, would he have said those exact things in the exact same way, to Dwayne The Rock Johnson? If not - creepy.

I think if I was creeped out I would have said ‘Ah, just some pictures’, turned my phone off and stood up.

No point giving anyone a lecture/telling off.

I would have pointed out to them that it is rude to read over someone's shoulder.

Nothing for nosey buggers, which is what my Gran would say.

I'd imagine she would if hypothetical lady was spreading her legs to invade the OPs personal space, making her uncomfortable and then snooping at her phone and then questioning it.

Can't really see a woman doing that though, do you?

Exactly. Making it clear to someone who has already made you feel uncomfortable that their behaviour is unwanted is not "being rude".

I would have told him (and them) to F off. You're more polite than me!

You’re conflating two very different scenarios and tying yourself up in linguistic knots doing it @DontSuitAJumpsuit

dont make false comparisons
a woman in her 70s is not the same as manspreading man imposing himself
you simply can’t conflate the two

Is it though?.

The OPs response to the man was all about privacy and that looking at her phone and commenting was a breach of privacy.

She didn't say to him to stop manspreading, to stop fidgeting or sitting so close or anything. She said there's such a thing as privacy.

I can absolutely imagine my mum being interested in what she can see on someone's phone and making a nosey comment on it.

So - if my mum sat next to and commented on something the OP considered private, would the OP tell her there's such a thing as privacy (and the rest)?

Or is the difference just that one person has a penis?

I have to keep checking what the OP said that was so rude according to PPs. She said this:

I snap back ''That is my phone and there is something called privacy''.

On what planet is this rude? Saying "F off you nosy c." would be rude. What the OP said was terse but factual.

Well done for standing up for yourself and those two girls need to keep their beaks out.

I once got shouted at on a London bus by a woman for not saying 'please' when i asked two single men with no bags / buggies etc to move out of the buggy space on a nearly empty bus after a really stressful journey with many train issues and 11month old DD in the buggy. I had horrible PND at the time and sobbed about it afterwards. She really shook my confidence and i didn't get on a bus for ages without DH.

There's literally no need to comment on anyone if it doesn't involve you.

Would it have been rude if it were a female? Was the train packed and he had to sit next to you? In which case it always feels too close for comfort. Do you have a big phone screen and holding it for the world to see? I don’t see the big deal. Travelling is boring, he obviously thought whatever you were looking at was interesting and it was probably in his line of sight. You could of got your point across more politely if necessary.