Technology evolves at such a rapid rate in the average person’s life, from foldable phones to home-controlling speakers, so it comes as no surprise that more people than ever are investing in new smartphones every single year in line with new product releases. But what happens to the phones we no longer want? While years ago, they may have sat in the kitchen drawer as spares, modern smartphones can still be worth a lot of cash. So the obvious solution is to sell your older technology to make way for the new.
But when we do decide to sell our old phones on, do we take all the necessary steps to ensure our data is removed from our personal smartphones? Well, here are three reasons why you should take that process seriously if you’re considering getting quick cash for your mobile device:
1. Your phone might end up in the hands of someone else
When we think of selling or recycling our phones to one of the many businesses out there, we consider our device ‘gone’. Whether it’s destroyed for parts or wiped and recycled in-house, we often don’t consider the idea our phone could end up with someone else. But this is the case more often than you might think. While recycling larger electrical items and appliances through brands like Curry’s is straightforward, the same isn’t true with mobiles. They still have value, and it makes more sense for businesses to sell them second-hand than dispose of them.
2. Hackers can access all kinds of information from phones that aren’t wiped
You’d be surprised how much hackers can access from an un-wiped device. If you still have devices paired to your phone, for example, it’s possible a hacker could access those too. Apple recommends that you sign out of all of your accounts, erase all content and even deregister from iMessage to ensure optimum safety. We use our phones for just about everything in the modern-day, from ordering takeaways to paying our bills. With banking apps, online payment and even login details freely available from our mobiles, wiping the data on them is more critical than ever before.
3. If you’re not doing your due diligence, you may be missing other things too
Sure, it’s a pain to have to jump through hoops to properly wipe and reset your phone, but if you don’t spend the time doing the job properly, you’re likely missing out on other things too. Follow an online guide or make a list of all the things you want to do before sending off your device. This should include getting all contact details, transferring photos and videos and anything else of a personal nature that’s on your smartphone. It’s easy for things to be lost forever if you’re not careful. Following this process and properly wiping your data not only protects you but ensures you remember everything else too.
That’s just three of the many reasons why wiping the data on your device is more critical than ever. Do you consider wiping data an important part of selling your smartphone?