Practice Safer Phone

Phone Safety Tips

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued these safety guidelines following the release of the National Toxicology Program’s study of cell phone radiation in 2016. NTP’s gold-standard, $30 million study – along with their expert peer reviewers – found “clear evidence of carcinogenesis.”

Here are the most important safety tips, including those from AAP:

  • Avoid carrying the phone against your body, like in a pocket or bra.
  • Do not use the cell phone up to your head or body.
  • Use speaker mode to limit radiation to the brain.
  • Keep your phone OFF whenever possible, especially at night. If you to keep it on overnight, place it far from your bedroom and turn up the ringer.
  • Turn Bluetooth OFF (in Settings; “not connected” indicates it will try to connect)
  • Turn Wi-Fi OFF: (in Settings) This is NOT needed to operate the majority of phones, unless the signal strength is very low.
  • Turn Locator Services (GPS) OFF (found at Privacy) This also prevents being tracked.

More Tips

  • Use Airplane Mode (in Settings) whenever you don’t need to make or receive a call/text.
  • Airplane Mode still allows you to see the time, take photos/videos, listen to downloaded music, and play on downloaded games.
  • Use a corded, Air Tube Head Set from sources like: ElectraHealth.com; SYB.com or TechWellness.com ) Most air tube headsets also require a “Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter” (only from Apple if used on an iPhone; otherwise lots of static!)
  • Use a corded landline instead! If you have children, it is crucial for them to see their parents using landlines, as they will model what we do.
  • Avoid all ear buds/ air pods, which emit wireless radiation directly into the brain.
  • Prefer texting to talking whenever possible.
  • Make only short or essential calls on cell phones.
  • If you plan to watch a movie on your device: download it, then switch to airplane mode.
  • Avoid making calls in cars. The cell phone works harder (and emits more radiation) to get a signal through metal.
  • Once you have a landline: Forward cell phones to your landline. Use *72 + landline #; *73 to undo. If this does not work, call your wireless provider to help with set-up.
  • For voice connectivity on a hard-wired smartphone, see Oram Miller’s detailed explanations here.
  • Hard-wire your cell phone or iPad for Ethernet connections. Use a Lighting to Ethernet USB 3Adapter. (Note: This ethernet connection will break the adapter of the iOS (Apple Operating System is between 14.8 and 15.1)
  • Forward cell calls to a Google Voice telephone number, which is free and operates on any PC or Mac desktop or laptop computer.
  • Use a shielded cell phone case, but don’t wear it on your body or put it close to your head! ShieldYourBody.com or TechWellness.com have effective and affordable cases. These should only be used if you have good connectivity (2 “bars” or more; otherwise, they will make the phone work harder – and emit more radiation as a result!)
  • When held next to the brain in active use, cell phones can often emit 1-2 million microwatts per meter squared of microwave radiation. The shielded case noted above) can reduce the radiation by 90%. But then you are left with up to 20,000 µW/m2 – far beyond the reliable safety guidelines below.

Wireless Safety Guidelines
Recommended limit in microwatts per meter squared (μW/m2) for Daytime Exposure