iPhone owners are 50 percent dirtier than Android users, according to a new study commissioned by the U.K.-based online retailer Brighthouse.

Brighthouse tested 170 items as part of its study, including game controllers, remote controls, laptop computers and 38 different phones — with 24 being iPhones and 14 being unspecified Android devices.

A “hygiene score” of 100 is deemed acceptable by Brighthouse, but the average smartphone reportedly has a score of a whopping 697. One iPhone 5s owner reportedly netted a frankly abysmal 3,060.

In all, smartphones represented an 8/10 on the most threatening category of household objects Brighthouse looked at.

To solve the problem, the company suggests “Avoid using paper towels to clean smartphone screens, in case they scratch it. Use a dry, lint-free cloth to target greasy fingerprints instead.”

So what’s our take on the study? For one thing, given the small sample size, it’s hardly conclusive. It also doesn’t necessarily reflect as badly on Apple users as it might immediately appear, since it suggests that iPhones are more likely to be handled during the day than their Android equivalents.

That might be bad for hygiene, but it’s good for app-makers, customer satisfaction, and just about every other category you can think of.

Overall, past studies have shown Apple fans to be richer, enjoy more sex, and have more luxurious holidays than their Android-owning counterparts. Maybe it’s time to let the Android users win for once.

Then again, maybe the fact that they’re washing their hands so much has to do with the record levels of porn viewing on Android devices.

Source: Brighthouse

Via: Android Pit