How to Securely Dispose of Your Smart Home Devices
1 min read
Summary
To protect against identity theft and financial fraud, securing smart home devices before disposal is crucial.
Data such as photographs, medical records and important documents should be backed up elsewhere, either on a new device or a secure cloud drive.
Any connected devices should be audited and removed from accounts when they are no longer in use.
Permissions should be unlinked to prevent backdoor access to networks.
Factory resetting a device ensures sensitive data such as Wi-Fi passwords are erased, and personal information such as medical records won’t fall into the wrong hands.
Devices should be disposed of in line with local electronic waste guidelines, which aim to prevent toxic substances such as mercury and lead from seeping into soil and groundwater.
Ask for a certificate of data destruction when disposing of devices in bulk.
