Selling Your Old Phone?
Upgrading to a new smartphone is exciting, but many people rush to sell or give away their old devices without properly safeguarding personal information. Simply deleting files or performing a quick factory reset isn’t enough—data can often be recovered with special software.
Passwords, banking details, emails, photos, and chat histories could all fall into the wrong hands if you’re not careful.
Below are key precautions to take before selling, gifting, or trading in your phone.
Back Up Important Files
Save essential documents, photos, and videos to a secure location such as cloud storage, an external drive, or your computer. Double-check that nothing important is left behind, including items in hidden folders or your recycle bin.
Disable Factory Reset Protection (FRP)
If your Android phone runs Lollipop (5.0) or later, turn off Factory Reset Protection. Without this step, the next owner may be locked out of the device.
Go to Settings → About Device → Software Information to confirm your Android version and disable FRP if needed.
Overwrite Data With Dummy Files
A factory reset alone may not erase everything permanently. Before wiping the device, fill the internal storage with large “throwaway” files—such as videos or music—to overwrite old data.
Once you reset the phone after adding this dummy content, the chances of recovering your personal files drop dramatically.
Remove Accounts and Unlink Google
Even after a reset, a phone linked to your Google account can remain tied to you.
Log in to your Google account on a computer or another device, navigate to Security → Your Devices, select the phone you’re selling, and choose Remove to disconnect it completely.
Reset and Clean the Phone
Finally, perform a full factory reset. This returns the phone to its original state, free of personal information.
If you use an iPhone, sign out of iCloud first; for Android devices, ensure all manufacturer-specific transfer apps—like Samsung Smart Switch—are no longer running.
By carefully following these steps, you can hand over your old smartphone with confidence, knowing that your private messages, banking credentials, and photos can’t be retrieved.
