You can download the recommendations as a PDF.

Nighttime use

  • Power off your phone or put it in airplane mode at night.

  • Ensure that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are disabled.

  • Charge your phone away from your bed, preferably in another room.

  • Turn off your Wi-Fi router at night, if Wi-Fi is enabled during the day.

  • Get a landline with a corded phone if you need to be reachable.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO) classified radio-frequency radiation as “possibly carcinogenic” in 2011.

Daytime use

  • Prefer texting over calling.

  • Use the speakerphone or an air-tube headset.

  • Hold your phone at arm’s length, especially during dial-up.

  • Switch sides regularly.

  • Keep the phone away from your body:
    at least half an inch at all times, but the farther the better.

  • Carry your phone in a purse or bag instead of your pocket or bra.

  • Have the phone screen positioned toward your body.

  • Avoid making phone calls when reception is poor.

  • Put your phone in airplane mode for breaks throughout the day.

The BC Centre for Disease Control (2013) considers “decreased levels of antioxidants a plausible explanation for [adverse] nonthermal effects” of cell phone radiation on sperm cells.

Low-emission settings

  • Disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Hotspot when not actively using them.

  • “Not connected” only means that no wireless connection could be established, but the wireless antenna keeps searching and radiating.

  • Turn off mobile data when not in use.

  • Restrict background data and instant notifications as appropriate.

  • Protective cases may increase your exposure to wireless radiation:
    the thicker the case or if made of metal, the higher the exposure.

  • Lab-tested shielding cases proven to reduce the user’s exposure must be used correctly to work as intended.

  • Stay away from radiation shields, stickers, or caps.

  • Note that metal jewelry and metal-framed glasses increase your exposure.

Children’s use

  • Keep cell phones away from small children.

  • Cell phones are not toys; otherwise, disable all wireless functions.

  • Limit children’s phone use.

  • Teach them how to reduce their exposure as outlined above.

  • Use a landline with a corded phone at home.

  • Establish wireless-free zones and times.

Since 2011 Health Canada has encouraged parents “to reduce their children’s RF exposure from cell phones.” The Safety Code 6 exposure limits for RF radiation at 2.4 GHz (Wi-Fi), for example, were lowered by about 50% in 2015.