Is Bluetooth Harmful? Clearly explained

Many electronic devices emit radiation. In addition to WiFi and cell phone radiation, Bluetooth is also said to be harmful. We'll tell you how dangerous technology really is for your body.

Bluetooth: harmfulness in gradation

Bluetooth is high-frequency radiation that is officially not a direct health hazard. The Bluetooth standard is approved worldwide and the radiation values ​​are in the accepted range.

• Bluetooth is mainly used to transmit data and voices. Among other things, the technology is used in computer mice, headsets or music systems and replaces annoying cables.
• Bluetooth is divided into three performance classes. Classes 3 and 2 have a range between 5 and 30 meters. These two are the most common and are considered harmless.
• Class 1 can achieve a range of up to 100 meters in the open and can be compared to cell phone radiation. Such devices are more of a concern, but are generally not used in private use.

How harmful is Bluetooth really?

Since Bluetooth mostly only appears as classes 2 and 3, the radiation is anything but harmful in many situations. If you make a phone call with a headset or a hands-free device, the radiation exposure is significantly lower than when using the cell phone directly on the ear.

• An example: The radiation exposure of electronic devices is measured in the SAR unit. An iPhone 11 has a SAR value of 0.95, which is average for current smartphones. A hands-free device only has a SAR value of 0.003.
• Bluetooth is therefore much more harmless than cell phone radiation and can therefore be neglected as a health risk. Only class 1 devices should be viewed with similar caution as cell phones.
• Internationally, cell phone radiation is constantly being researched. Even if the SAR values ​​here are significantly higher than for Bluetooth, no long-term effects have yet been clearly proven.

Protection against Bluetooth radiation: is that possible?

Since the radiation from Bluetooth is generally much weaker than the radiation from cell phones and the WLAN router, protection is generally not necessary. To minimize Bluetooth radiation, you can simply deactivate the function on most devices, for example on a smartphone.

• You will find a variety of devices and aids online that are designed to contain radiation. However, the effectiveness of such aids is highly controversial. With so-called "shielding paint" you can, for example, paint house and interior walls to shield radiation from the outside.
• So-called radiation detectors are also popular. With this you can measure the current radiation exposure at any place. This also tells you how much radiation your Bluetooth devices actually emit.