New Shocking Pictures Reveal How Disgusting Your Phone Really Is

Your iPhone may be a lot dirtier than you might think. A new study reveals that your phone accumulates a disgusting array of bacteria each day.

In this case, students from the University of Surrey dipped their phones into Petri dishes to see how much bacteria might be present on them. The results will probably make you rethink touching your phone-or cause you to take pains to clean it a bit more often.

The new images show that bacteria flourish in the crevices of your phone. And while the bacteria may look pretty gross, that doesn't mean that it's harmful. The researchers discovered that aside from traces of staphylococcus aureus, which can cause skin infections, the bacteria were harmless.

That said, the results are still pretty disgusting, and the scientists advise that phone users should clean their devices with disinfectant every week in order to prevent the buildup of bacteria.

"From these results, it seems that the mobile phone doesn't just remember telephone numbers, but also harbors a history of our personal and physical contacts such as other people, soil and other matter," said Simon Park, the university's senior lecturer in molecular biology, in an interview with The London Evening Standard.

Next time you pick up your phone, remember that you may be picking up more than just the latest piece of tech.

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