That is according to new research by London scientists.

Researchers analyzed 780 swab samples -- 390 from mobile phones and 390 from the hands that used them -- in 12 U.K. cities. They found that 16% of both hands and phones were contaminated with E. coli, potentially illness-causing bacteria that is fecal in origin. The likely reason: because people don't wash their hands after using the toilet. That means people are spreading fecal bacteria not just to their phones, but to everything else they touch around them. E. coli can survive on hands and other surfaces for hours, especially in warm conditions (like on a smartphone screen), and is easily transferred to door handles, computer keyboards, food, other people -- and back to you. If you contaminate your iPhone with fecal bacteria, then wash your hands, then handle your phone again, you've just re-soiled your clean hands.

Overall, the researchers found that 92% of hands and 82% of phones showed some type of bacterial contamination. About a third of hands and a quarter of phones contained Staphylococcus aureus, common bacteria that live on skin but can cause illness if they enter the bloodstream.

Think of this the next time you ask to borrow someones smartphone.

Find the article on Time Mag.: 1 in 6 Cell Phones Contaminated With Fecal Matter. Via The Loop.