Many people are under the delusion that a factory reset of a smartphone device will clear all the user data in it.

Not usually.

In most devices there are remnants of user data left behind which could easily be used for identity theft purposes. So before you sell off that smartphone device, here are the steps to take to clear everything out.

1. For anything that authenticates, de-authenticate it first.

Just because you remove the app doesn’t mean the stored authentication data doesn’t go with it. You will have to go through each app to remove any username/password information that’s stored before removing it.

2. For anything that synchronizes, desynchronize it first.

This is not the same as de-authorizing as it’s what happens after the authorization happens. Apps that synchronize must be instructed to stop doing it, then you go ahead and clear the data.

3. Manually dump the browser’s cache, cookies and anything else it stored.

This is a relatively straightforward process, with the only annoyance being that sometimes it’s difficult to remove bookmarks/favorites on some mobile browsers. Other than that, this should be easy.

After the above is done, then remove your apps, perform a factory system reset and the phone should be truly “blanked out” at that point.

If all of this seems like too much of a bother, don’t sell the phone. Ever. Use it as the most expensive coaster you own instead.

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