Answer: Yes, this is possible. But we can clean them. Our cell phones can collect a lot of germs. In other words, the surface of your phone can be an avenue of infection. We can clean our hand held devices, to prevent them from becoming a source of infection. Unplug and turn it off before cleaning. Slightly dampen a soft lint free cloth with warm soapy water. You don’t want to pour or spray a wet solution over your phone because it can damage your phone. It is great to wash your hands with soap and water but it’s not such a good idea to wash your phone. Don’t apply anything dripping wet over your phone. Use a lint free, soft microfiber cleaning cloth such as a lens cleaning cloth.
Many touchscreen mobile phones have an oil-repellent (oleophobic) coating that acts to keep fingerprints and other smudges off the screen, this coating can be damaged by harsh chemicals. If you have a screen protector, you can perhaps not worry too much about damaging your device screen.
Let’s see what some phone manufacturers advise below:
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Apple has updated its instructions on their website as follows “Using a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, you may gently wipe the exterior surfaces of your iPhone. Don’t use bleach. Avoid getting moisture in any of the openings and don’t submerge your iPhone in any cleaning agents.”
For those who own Samsung Galaxy devices, the Samsung website says: “You can also use a disinfectant, such as a hypochlorous acid based solution (containing 50-80ppm) or an alcohol based solution containing more than 70% ethanol or isopropyl alcohol). Do not apply these liquid solutions directly to your device; they should be carefully applied to a microfiber cloth instead.
VERY IMPORTANT Power down your device and unplug it from power source.
Don’t use hydrogen peroxide or other harsh chemicals.
Quite informative.
Thank you.