Officials say you must turn off your phone once every week to avoid 'dangerous' risk

Officials have sent out a warning to say that you must turn off your phone at least once a week to avoid a ‘dangerous’ risk.

There are millions of iPhone and Android users that are being warned to switch off their devices on a weekly basis.

This is because experts say that you could be at risk if you don’t follow the protocol.

Experts are warning that people could be at risk if they don't switch their phones off once a week (Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images)

The official advice comes from the USA National Security Agency, who say that you need to “power the device off and on weekly”.

But why is it so important to switch it off?

Apparently, turning your phone off regularly will prevent you from falling victim to some dangerous cybersecurity attacks.

Speaking to the Sun, security expert Darren Guccione said: “Turning your phone off once a week essentially gives it a quick ‘reset’ to clear out any potential problems that may build up while it's running.

“Phones, like computers, run a plethora of apps and processes in the background, which can lead to issues like sluggish performance, bugs or even security vulnerabilities.

“When you turn off your phone, it shuts down all these processes, closing potential gaps that cybercriminals might try to exploit and clearing temporary files that might contain sensitive information.

“While it will not solve every security problem, it’s a simple, low-effort step that can help improve your phone’s performance and make it harder for certain types of attacks to infiltrate the device and your sensitive data.”

Officials say that you must turn your phone off (Ton Photograph/Getty Images)

However, even though turning off your iPhone or Android could help you avoid the risk - it’s not guaranteed that this will prevent hackers from getting in.

Unfortunately, some hacks won’t be impacted by switching your device off.

Guccione continued: “It’s not a complete fix, but when combined with other good habits – like regularly updating your phone’s software, deleting unused apps and files, and using strong, unique passwords for all of your accounts.

“A simple restart helps keep your device more secure.”

Talking to the Sun, another expert Chris Hauk said: “While powering off your iPhone or Android device once a week won't hurt anything, it will likely only resolve minor ‘script kiddy’ attacks against your device.

“Meanwhile, malware or viruses will be quietly sitting in your device's storage area, ready to go back to work as soon as the device comes back online.”

He added: “Keeping your device’s operating system and installed apps updated to the latest available version is better protection against attacks.

“Updates generally include security and privacy fixes, offering protection against known dangers.”