Today, our devices such as phones, laptops and even televisions are treasure troves of personal information. Selling your old phone or computer is a great way to make a few bucks, but be sure to clear your data completely before doing so. We hope to get advice from us 24 Channels I will help you

1. Back up your data

When preparing equipment for destruction or sale, it is very easy for data to be accidentally destroyed. So, before you do anything else, make sure all your valuable data is saved, even if you think you don’t need it anymore.

It’s best to transfer data to multiple media, such as a cloud service, external hard drive, flash drive, or the backup device itself. So before you sell your old equipment, you can rest easy knowing that your photos, important documents and precious memories are safe.

2. Delete all accounts

Nowadays, user accounts are usually connected to devices via device ID rather than logging in. Logging out isn’t always enough to block access to your accounts.

If you sell the device without separating it from the account, the new user will be able to use the device. This is especially true for home security devices such as doorbell cameras, IP cameras, and smart home devices. If you’re selling or disposing of your smartphone or computer, log out of all apps, especially your financial and banking accounts.

If you use Google Authenticator, it’s a good idea to back it up before selling. You can back up Google Authenticator and other apps, but if that’s not possible, you’ll need to create keys for each account on the new device from scratch before deleting them.

3. Make data on hard drive unreadable

Deleting files from a laptop or computer or formatting the hard drive is not enough to prevent others from reading the data. Instead, use data erasure or encryption software to make the data on the hard drive unreadable.

4. Reset the device to factory settings

Factory reset returns the device to its original state when you purchased it. This will erase all data and settings and provide a clean device for the next user.

Before factory resetting your computer or smartphone, make sure to remove the relevant accounts as in step 2.

5. Remove or register hard drives

Sometimes the most effective method is the simplest: remove and save hard drives from your devices for disposal (or reuse!) later. This is especially important for hard drives with large amounts of memory and sensitive data. Removing the hard drive ensures that the new owner will never be able to recover your information.

6. Check confidential data

Many devices store data where you least suspect it. Scan all devices for hidden data sources. Here are some of the most notable examples:

• Network routers and switches: They log DNS queries, URLs, and connection requests. Network devices should be reset to factory settings before being discarded or sold.
• Printers: Printers store metadata about almost everything they print or scan, often using internal memory. It is recommended to clear this memory to destroy this data.
• smart home devices: TVs, cameras and even “smart” refrigerators can keep poorly saved copies of your Wi-Fi password.

In most cases, a factory reset will delete all data associated with you.

7. Consider reusing

Old devices that still work can be reused. For example, you can install Linux or Chrome OS Flex on an old computer and use it for certain tasks, which will significantly extend its service life.