Before getting rid of your old mobile phone, the Internet Security Office recommends encrypting the data it contains and restoring it so that the new owner can never access them. It is always necessary to restore your old mobile before selling or giving it away to others.
Restore Your Old Mobile Before Selling
Typical scenario: open OLX, publish an ad with your old (but in perfect condition) mobile and you get a buyer. Or this one: you just bought the latest model from iPhone but the Samsung you had before would be very good for a family member and you want to give it away.
In these or other circumstances, when we get rid of our old mobile it is very important that we avoid the next owner (whether or not we trust) accessing the data stored in it. From photos and videos to personal data, emails, passwords or contacts; it is information that is private that should be protected.
For this, the Office of Security of the Internet recommends to carry out a process of several steps before finally getting rid of our old device, either Android or iOS, to restore it and make it as if it had not passed through our hands.
Encrypt your device
When encrypting the device, the person who acquires it will never be able to access the information that it once contained. Apple users incorporate encryption by default and Android users also from version 6.0. If it is not your case, to activate it go to Settings> Security/Lock screen and security (or variants, depending on the terminal) > Encrypt device.
If the phone supports SD memory cards and you are also going to deliver it, it is also advisable to encrypt them.
Unlink the device from your account
The next step after encrypting is to log out and unlink the device from our iCloud or Google account, depending on the operating system. Let’s see both cases:
- iOS: to unlink the device from the iCloud account go to Settings> iCloud> Log out iCloud
- Android: Go to Settings> Accounts. Once inside this window, we will see all the services in which we have an account. Select the accounts associated with each service one by one and click on “More” (they can be three circles located at the top right of the screen); then select «Delete account».
Restore the device
When we restore the device to the factory values, the space occupied by all our data remains as available to the operating system, and therefore without data. The importance of encrypting the mobile before is because, if not, at this point the new owner of the terminal, with adequate tools, could recover our personal information.
How to restore the mobile according to the operating system we have:
- iOS: Click on Settings> General> Reset and then on the “Delete content and settings” button. If you have the “Search my iPhone” function activated, you may be asked for the Apple ID and password.
- Android: Select Settings> Backup and reset> Factory data reset. As before, if the terminal contains SD card, you will have to repeat the same operation with it, going to Settings> Storage> Delete SD card.
That is it! You are done with the restoring process of your old mobile. I hope this article will help you to sell your mobile safely and securely. If you have any other queries let us know them in the below comment box and we will get back to you to solve all your questions with a suitable answer.
Do you know any other best tips to do before selling our old mobile? Share them with us in the below comments section.
