How to Securely Wipe Your Old Devices Before Selling: A Story About Ghosts in the Machine
1 min read
Summary
A 2022 study found that 63% of smartphones sold on eBay contained sensitive data, and 78% of used devices still had information on them after being “reset”).
This is a problem because when you simply delete a file, the device marks the space as available rather than erasing the information, which can be easily recovered using recovery tools.
The article offers a step-by-step guide to wiping devices clean, which is necessary not just for protecting your privacy but also for preventing identity theft and corporate espionage.
The guide offers specific advice for wiping clean both iOS and Android devices, as well as PCs and laptops.
It suggests using the free, open-source app BleachBit to rid your PC of junk files and personal data, and Eraser for more secure deletion on Windows.
For iOS devices, it says you must disable Find My iPhone before passing the device on, otherwise, the new owner won’t be able to activate it.