Be sure to factory reset these 7 types of devices before selling

In our turbulent era of rapid technological change, it’s important that your old devices don’t give away all your secrets. And no, factory reset isn’t just about your favorite tech like phones or laptops—your overlooked tech tools also need a clean slate to help protect your digital life.

1 Tablets

First the tablets. Like most mobile devices such as cell phones, tablets serve as portable data storage. They store everything from photos to documents and other personal information. And because they’re so easy to use for both creative and work tools, they often contain personal files, emails, and sensitive data related to your identity. If someone else is accessing this data, it could be bad for you, so always remember to factory reset your tablet.

2 electronic readers

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Next are electronic book readers. While they’re ideal for readers who want to have their entire library on a compact device, they also carry a surprising amount of data, such as purchase history, card information, and reading preferences. If you’ve ever used an e-book reader to buy a book online, your payment information is ripe for the wrong hands. To protect your privacy, it is important to unregister and reset each e-reader to factory settings.

3 smart phones

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Smartphones are undeniably one of the most personal and data-rich devices we use every day. Apart from payment details, they are absolute treasure troves of sensitive information, from contacts to messages, emails and location history.

Imagine if someone got hold of your old phone and could log into your email and from there your bank just because you forgot to factory reset the device. In other words, always make sure you have a backup of all your data, log out of all accounts, and complete a comprehensive factory reset to erase all personal traces.

4 Laptops and computers

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Like smartphones, computers store vast amounts of data beyond the basics—take financial documents, tax returns, and private correspondence. Simply deleting won’t help here; anyone who really wants to get at your data can get at it, and if they try hard enough, they can even recover “deleted” data. This means that a factory reset along with a hard drive wipe is the best solution to protect your data.

5 Gaming console

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Gaming consoles are some of the most overlooked personal devices that will house your information. This information is linked to online game profiles, including your credit card information, game progress and personal messages. It might seem like there isn’t much scammers can do with this information, but you’d be surprised. Make sure you factory reset your console, remove all consoles and even delete apps before handing them to someone else.

6 Smart home devices

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While most people don’t really think about selling their smart home devices, they can donate them to others if they’re upgrading or throwing out old devices. These devices, including cameras, hubs, and speakers, collect and store intimate data about your daily routines, voice commands, and more.

What does this mean? Hackers can do a lot with this information. Clear all settings and unlink all accounts to prevent unauthorized access to your privacy.

7 Wearable devices

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Another device that most people don’t give much thought to are wearables like smart watches and fitness trackers. Like smart home devices, they collect large amounts of personal data—health metrics, messages, and even GPS location history. This will allow the other person to get a detailed view of your lifestyle, including details you probably don’t want out. Always reset and remove personal data from devices before they leave your device.

Factory resetting your devices before selling them is a smart and necessary step to protect your personal data and privacy. Check all devices, including those that are often overlooked, to ensure that sensitive information is not being inadvertently shared.