When it comes to data containing devices, like your smart phones, many people believe that using a system restore or doing a factory reset is enough to delete all of the personal information that is on the device – but that is not always true.
When it comes to Android smartphones, simply doing a factory reset on older versions is not enough to keep your information safe from someone who really wants to get it off your old phone.
Think of all the things you or your employees may have stored on Android smartphones:
- Photos
- Customer contacts
- Contracts
- Sales orders
- Financial applications
Now think of that information being posted somewhere online – something to think about before you decide how to dispose of old smartphones.
One security software company bought used Android smartphones on Ebay and, even though these phones were listed as having the data on the phones wiped, the company was still able to retrieve personal files from the phones. This probably occurred because the sellers of the Android smartphones thought that a simple factory reset of the phone would be enough to delete all of their personal information. But it wasn’t. The software company was able to retrieve:
- Photos of children
- Personally identifiable information
- A list of contacts for the phone owner
- A loan application, which would include a very comprehensive amount of personal information about the previous Android smartphone owner
According to Google, the best way to delete data from newer Android smartphones is to encrypt the phone first and then follow with a factory reset. To do this, go to settings on your Android smartphone and select “security”. From there you will see an option for encryption. This process will allow you to select a PIN or password in order to undo the encryption process. That is why it is important to do both, encryption and factory reset. Once you complete the factory reset, you will delete the PIN or password someone would need to undo the encryption process.
Another alternative is to let a data destruction professional manage the process of securely destroying the files on your data containing devices with the most up-to-date methods. When small business owners and managers calculate the cost associated with doing this in-house, they usually find that working with an outside vendor is a more cost effective and safer choice.
If you are concerned about properly disposing of your old Android smartphones, or any other data containing devices, don’t hesitate to contact us.