Health experts recommend cleaning your phone once a day – but just 21% of Americans actually do so

Health experts say that mobile phones are significantly dirtier than toilet seats – and advise cleaning them at least once per day. But new YouGov data shows that just one in five Americans (21%) actually sanitize their devices every day. 

Another fifth (18%) say they clean their phones two or three times a week, and nearly as many (16%) say they do so once a week. 

Some 9% say they sanitise their smartphones once a fortnight, while 9% do so once a month. In news that will perhaps upset health experts even more, 16% clean their phones more infrequently than once a month, while 7% say they never clean their phones at all: meaning that nearly a quarter clean their phones on a less-than-monthly basis.

Earlier YouGov data – which, in tandem with these findings, may be especially upsetting to the germaphobes among us – showed that 39% of Americans look at their mobile phones while sitting on the toilet.  

And even more worryingly, given that older people have weaker immune systems and are more vulnerable to disease, Americans aged over 55 are most likely to say they “never” clean their phones (10% vs. 7% of American consumers). 

Methodology

YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online in November 2023, with a nationally representative sample of 1,162 adults in the US   using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

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