Selling your old phone? A simple factory reset might not be enough

A new study shows that roughly a third of phones sold online still contain recoverable private data that could compromise the original owner.

Despite constant media attention surrouding smartphone security and data privacy, it appears that we still don’t realise how wiping our phone with a factory reset doesn’t always permanently delete our private data.

A study by Blancco Technology Group discovered that 35 percent of second-hand phones bought from the likes of Amazon and eBay still contained private data, including emails and texts. In many cases, the phones were likely wiped before being sold, but still held residual traces of data that could be recovered using professional software.

The good news for Apple and Microsoft fans is that iPhones, iPads and Windows devices are unlikely to be affected by this issue. Android users beware, however, because your phone could possibly still hold confidential and private information even after a factory reset.

Check out our guide on how to safely and securely wipe a phone or tablet before selling.