According to recent industry data, as of December 2019, there were more than 500 million mobile phone users in India, which is a 15% growth over 2018. Chinese brands are a major factor underlying this quick expansion. At lower prices, they are promoting the newest high-end cell phones. Are You Going to Sell or Trade in Your Old Phone? Make certain that the phone data has been formatted!
In the past, people would spend years only using a cell phone. But due to low prices, mobile phones are currently being traded and sold more frequently than ever before. The availability of a wide range of manufactures and models is one of the other primary drivers of smartphone use trends. The predilection of consumers for cutting-edge technology and the lucrative mobile exchange offers from online and brick-and-mortar merchants.
When you get a new smartphone, you can swap your old one for the new one or sell it to a retailer. Before selling or trading in an old phone, the majority of consumers wipe their data or do a factory reset. However, they are not aware that wiping the data clean by formatting the phone does not erase the data from the memory. The information is still present in the phone’s storage, and data recovery software makes it simple to get it back. This statistic highlights the serious risk that your personal information poses when it is stolen from your used smartphone. Consequences include identity theft, financial losses, harassment, and even legal issues as a result of this.
How Do I Format My Phone Before Selling or Trading It?
There are two simple ways to format a mobile device: either by utilising a strong mobile eraser software or the built-in encryption features in iOS and Android smartphones:
Method 1: Format a mobile device utilising the encryption function
Follow the instructions below to format an Android phone:
- Click “Encrypt Phone” under Settings -> Security.
Reminder: Because the process will take some time, it is preferable to charge your phone beforehand.
- Tap “Encrypt Phone” once again, then put the phone away for a bit. Depending on the amount of data saved inside the smartphone, the process could take an hour or two.
- Now select “Factory data reset” under Settings -> Backup & reset.
- Tap “Reset Phone” on the following screen.
You have reset your Android smartphone and encrypted the data stored on it to protect data privacy.
The steps listed below can be used to format iOS devices, including the iPhone and iPad:
- Select Settings. Click General.
- Erase All Content and Settings by scrolling down and tapping Reset.
On your iOS device, the information is safely deleted.
Method 2: Use mobile eraser software to format your Android or iPhone.
The aforementioned techniques can be used to format ancient smartphones, but they are laborious and time-consuming. Use Stellar BitRaser Mobile Eraser & Diagnostics software to delete the data off your old smartphone if you want a secure method of doing so. The following describes how to format a mobile device with BitRaser step-by-step:
- From your cloud account, download the BitRaser Mobile Eraser ISO image file.
- On build bootable media, burn the BitRaser Mobile Eraser ISO image file to the USB device.
- Connect the computer or laptop to the bootable USB device.
- Press the function key to start your computer or laptop after turning it on.
- Press enter to launch BitRaser Mobile Erase after selecting your bootable USB drive.
- Launch the application, then sign in using your BitRaser® cloud account.
- Select the mobile device by checking the box next to your laptop or computer.
- To start wiping the phone, click Start.
For permanently wiping sensitive data from all Android and iOS devices, use this certified mobile data remover programme.
Before reselling or exchanging a mobile device, use “Data Erasure” rather than deletion or formatting.
Mobile devices like smartphones hold private and sensitive information like pictures, movies, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, Aadhaar Card numbers, etc. Such information could seriously endanger you if it ends up in the wrong hands. Your old phone may include sensitive information that hackers and data brokers can access, offering risks such as extortion, financial fraud, identity theft, and more.
Make sure the used smartphone you’re selling doesn’t include any personal information to prevent a data breach. To maintain complete data privacy, wipe the data from your previous phone using data erasure software. Don’t rely solely on formatting and deletion. The term “deletion” only signifies the removal of addresses to files stored in phone memory; the actual files themselves remain on your phone. Similar to formatting, which prepares the storage medium for reuse without necessarily removing data that can still be recovered, is formatting.
To Sum Up
In India, the number of smartphone users is rising daily, and people are replacing their old phones more frequently due to the low cost of the newest handsets. While buying a new smartphone, users are reselling or swapping their current mobile devices. If the information is not properly deleted, this could be a threat to user privacy. If you accidentally erased or formatted mobile data, you may quickly recover it using data recovery software.
Make sure no private information is on your iOS or Android smartphone. To safely wipe the data on your smartphone, encrypt it using the built-in encryption tool or use a data erasure tool like BitRaser Mobile Eraser.