Dumping a phone? Clear the data first!

If you are selling or donating your laptop or phone, have it wiped professionally, otherwise data can be retrieved years later, says John Hearne.

BEFORE you donate or sell your phone, wipe it. Do the same to any other technology devices you’re selling. Because despite all the talk about privacy, many people seem to care little about their personal data.

In 2006, the BBC reunited a hard drive bought on a street in Nigeria with its former owner in the UK, by using information still on the drive. Last month, an Australian industry group found confidential, personal information on 15 of 52 hard drives they bought second-hand on eBay.