Mobile phone RF exposure
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026
A mobile phone is a two-way radio: on a call it transmits from the handset — often held against the head or carried in a pocket — which makes it the everyday source people most want numbers for. This page collects the typical levels, the limits phones are certified against, and what the dated sources conclude, without going beyond them.
Typical levels and limits, with dated sources
- Phones sold in the United States must be certified so that the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) — the rate at which tissue absorbs RF energy — does not exceed 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 gram of tissue (FCC, OET Bulletin 65, 1997). The limit used across most of Europe and per ICNIRP is 2 W/kg averaged over 10 grams (ICNIRP, 2020).
- IARC classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields — the kind mobile phones use — as "possibly carcinogenic" (Group 2B) in 2011, based on limited evidence (Baan et al., Lancet Oncology 12(7): 624–626, 2011; IARC Monographs Vol. 102).
- The INTERPHONE study, the largest case–control study of phone use, found no increased risk of glioma or meningioma overall; an apparent increase among the heaviest 10% of users was judged to have biases and errors that prevent a causal interpretation (INTERPHONE Study Group, International Journal of Epidemiology 39(3): 675–694, 2010).
- A WHO-commissioned systematic review of 63 studies found no association between mobile phone use and brain cancer in humans (Karipidis et al., Environment International, 2024).
- The WHO states that to date no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use, and notes for concerned users that hands-free kits and texting keep the phone away from the head (WHO, "Electromagnetic fields and public health: mobile phones", Fact sheet No. 193, updated October 2014).
How distance and usage change exposure
- RF power density falls with the square of distance from the antenna: doubling the distance leaves roughly a quarter of the power density. Moving a phone from your ear to a speakerphone or headset at arm's length is therefore the single biggest lever.
- Phones transmit at higher power when the network signal is weak, so a call in a low-coverage area exposes the user to more RF than the same call in a strong-signal area (WHO, Fact sheet No. 193, 2014).
- Texting or using a wired headset keeps the transmitting antenna farther from the body than a handheld call (WHO, Fact sheet No. 193, 2014).
Try it in the calculator
Our calculator models phone calls directly. This link opens it with the Phone Calls emitter pre-selected — adjust the distance and daily call time to see the modelled estimate next to the ICNIRP public reference level.
Open the calculator — Phone Calls
Sources
- FCC (1997), "Evaluating Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields", OET Bulletin 65, Edition 97-01, August 1997.
- ICNIRP (2020), "Guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz)", Health Physics 118(5): 483–524.
- Baan et al., IARC Working Group (2011), "Carcinogenicity of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields", The Lancet Oncology 12(7): 624–626; IARC Monographs Vol. 102.
- INTERPHONE Study Group (2010), "Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case–control study", International Journal of Epidemiology 39(3): 675–694.
- Karipidis et al. (2024), "Mobile phone use and the risk of brain cancer: a systematic review", Environment International.
- WHO (2014), "Electromagnetic fields and public health: mobile phones", Fact sheet No. 193, updated October 2014.
Educational information, not medical advice. Numbers above are limits and findings as stated by their dated sources; our calculator's output is a model-based estimate, not a measurement. No adverse health effects are confirmed below international limits, and research on long-term effects is ongoing — see About for our editorial position.