Whether you’re the type of person who always needs the latest and greatest smartphone or you’re content to wait two years to upgrade, chances are good you probably have some old smartphones kicking around in a closet or junk drawer somewhere. Before you go and sell an old Android device, though, there are a few steps you should safety measures you should take first. First things first, encrypt your data. Just performing a factory reset will wipe out your data to the average user, but a motivated hacker will still be able to recover some of your data. Encrypting your data will lock it down, so head into Settings and Security and being the encryption. This may take more than an hour, but the added security is well worth the extra time. Once that’s done, perform a factory reset on your device. This will restore your phone to the way it was when it came out of the box, and make sure all your private data is inaccessible to any future owners.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.