RECEIVED A NEW SMARTPHONE? FIND OUT HOW TO SAFELY DISPOSE OF YOUR OLD MOBILE AND YOUR PERSONAL DATA FROM IT!

Received a new mobile phone recently? Great! But how can you safely dispose of your old mobile phone? And how can you delete your personal data from your old phone to stop it getting into the wrong hands?

You could sell it, perhaps give it to a family member or friend, donate it to charity, or recycle it. Of course, you may decide to toss it into the ‘drawer of despair’ with all the other bits and bobs such as cables that you will never use again, old batteries (are they really dead?) and that manual for a 1970’s toaster – the list goes on.

Forecasts from eMarketer predict that more than a quarter of the world’s population will own a smartphone in 2016, and with this number expected to grow to more than 2.56 billion people, or a third of the world’s population in 2018, it is important to know how to safely dispose of your old mobile phone and remove your personal data from it.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans disposed of 152,000,000 million mobile devices in 2010 and only 11 per cent of those devices were recycled.

How to dispose of your old mobile

1. Donate it to charity. There are numerous charities, including Against Breast Cancer, Cell Phones for Soldiers, and Hopeline from Verizon Wireless who will be more than happy to receive your old mobile which they will recycle, resell or repurpose to help those in need.

2. Recycle it. Many mobile phone manufacturers will recycle old mobiles. Check out The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CTIA – The Wireless Association, and your mobile carrier.

3. Give it away. Maybe to a family member or friend?

4. Sell it. Do your research before passing it over to just any company – you may be surprised at the difference in the amount of money you can get for your old mobile phone.

Once you’ve decided how you’re going to dispose of your old mobile, you need to delete all traces of your personal data from it.

How to delete your personal data from your old mobile?

There are some basic things you should do first in order to delete your personal data from your old mobile, regardless of the type.

1. Backup all your data including your contacts, photos, etc.

2. Remove your SIM card.

3. Remove your SD card, if you have one.

4. If you’re disposing of your old mobile phone including your SD card, you will need to encrypt your data before deleting it.

5. Ensure that you sign out of all services on your old mobile phone such as your social media, email and online banking accounts before you wipe it. Also, remove the phone from your Play Store device manager if on Android and from iCloud syncs on iOS.

The next step depends on what type of mobile phone you have.

iOS – iPhone, iPad and iPod

Before proceeding to delete your personal data from your iOS device remember to backup your data!

Follow the instructions from Apple to delete your personal data from your iOS device.

Windows Phone

Ensure that you delete your personal data from your Windows phone, but make sure that you backup your data first before continuing!

Follow the instructions from Windows to wipe your personal data from your Windows phone.

Android

Backup your data before you delete your personal data from your Android device.

The easiest way to delete your personal data from Android is to perform a factory reset. However, this will only erase your data at the application level. Follow these instructions from CNET’s Dan Graziano  to successfully delete your personal data from your Android device.

Before parting with your old mobile phone, double check that all personal data has been deleted from it, including your contacts list, logs for dialed and received calls, voicemails, text messages (sent and received), photos and search history. Also delete any apps you installed (take a note of the ones you downloaded in case you want to download them again on your new phone), and ensure that all related data is erased.

Recycling your old mobile phone is an excellent option, but personally I would donate my old mobile to a worthwhile charity. 

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