Chances are if you knew the amount of bacteria that dwells on the surface of your beloved cell phone due to the amount of texting, downloading, and gabbing you do, you’d probably reach for the nearest bottle of sanitizer.

According to a new study by Which? Magazine, cell phones are dirtier than toilet handles.

Too bad there isn’t an app for that.

Millions of British cell phones have been found to exceed the recommended acceptable levels of bacteria, research suggests. Swabs and analysis of the cellies’ surfaces detected harmful, elevated levels of bacteria that are a result of poor hygiene. In fact, phones are covered with up to 18 times more living bacteria than a public toliet.

England’s Telegraph writes: “Swabs and analysis of 30 mobile handsets found that seven had high or warning levels of environmental bacteria. One contained such an intense concentration of bacteria, including faecal coliforms, that anyone using it could have faced a serious stomach upset. According to hygiene expert Jim Francis: ‘The levels of potentially harmful bacteria on one mobile were off the scale. That phone needs sterilizing.’ The tests showed how easily bacteria could linger on the surface of a phone, which could be passed on to other people if they held the handset to look at photos or other applications.”

Many people have adopted the habit of using hand sanitizers on a regular basis, but many may not think to give their cell phone a thorough wipe-down with the same substance.