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My iPhone XS is water resistant. I just got some burrito juice on it so I went ahead and washed it with soap and water.

It's never felt cleaner, and it feels brand new.

Is this safe?

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No, water isn’t safe for any electronics. Neither are cleaning products, including soap.

Avoid moisture and clean as lightly and dryly as possible is best for the hardware - especially hardware that’s been used and bumped and dropped. Small cracks will grab water and soap, a surfactant, causes capillary action to be amplified.

Even a new phone or waterproof one shouldn’t just be washed with excess water for no good reason. It really depends on the contaminant and ability to clean without a lot of water in the end. It also doesn’t mean a drop in a pool or sink will cause a phone to fail, especially the newer ones.

Now, when choosing between your health and the phone health, most people will occasionally use something other than water, but only knowing it damages the device in excess or in concentration based on the cleaning product you choose.

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    Water isn't good for electronics, but the iPhone XS is very well-sealed against water ingress. Apple claims the it can resist water ingress for up to 30 minutes at a depth up to 2 meters (and c|net tested it). But, you need to let it dry off well afterward, especially before trying to charge it. I am a bit concerned about soap (as you mentioned) being a surfactant, though.
    – Gordon Davisson
    Commented May 22, 2019 at 22:54
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    Phones are resistant if manufactured perfectly and never dropped. Why risk it @GordonDavisson? I agree some electronics are truly sealed off - amenable to be visually inspected for any/all ingress points, but I’m old school when it comes to water and expensive devices and possibly salt and sweat on the device. I agree totally the sealing is very welcome and effective in the majority of recent devices. I also know inside the iPhone and iPad are many crevices and if there is one microscopic chink in that armor - a device submerged in soapy water guarantees intrusion.
    – bmike ♦
    Commented May 23, 2019 at 0:39

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