Never sell your iPhone or Android without checking these key settings first

IF you got a new smartphone for Christmas or are due an upgrade, you may be looking to sell your old device.

One expert at Envirofone, a second-hand phone retailer, has advised sellers to check three key things before they flog it.

Firstly, make sure you have completed a factory reset on the old smartphone by going into Settings.

“It can be very easy to let old tech pile up. We often save phones, laptops and tablets as a backup or out of uncertainty on how to transfer old photos onto a hard drive or current device,” said Lewis Rice, a business unit lead at Envirofone.

“When selling through trading sites such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace you could be at risk of exposing bank details and other personal information through data saved on your old devices.

“Whilst factory resetting your device may seem like a simple task, there are many loopholes that could leave you vulnerable to a data breach when privately selling your tech.”

Sellers might also want to consider data encryption, which keeps even erased data out of the hands of hackers.

“Erased data can in fact be restored,” Rice explained.

“If a hacker takes the time to do this, they will not be able to find anything if you have encrypted your data before erasing it.”

iPhone owners, however, will not have to worry about this as Apple encrypts the data automatically.

But Android users may have to do this manually. 

Next, be sure to remove the SIM card.

The SIM card stores information about you and your phone, including phone numbers, text messages, billing information and data usage.  

It may seem obvious but it can be accidentally overlooked.

Rice also urged sellers to ‘unpair’ their smart home devices from the smartphone.

Smartphones are often used to connect to other devices such as an Amazon Alexa, a thermostat or a security camera.

These should be unpaired before selling the smartphone, to make sure that access stays private and the data from these devices is backed up and erased. 

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