If the farewell is approaching, you should take your smartphone again. Because only those who delete the device properly before handing it over can keep control of their data.
Berlin (dpa / tmn) - Hand over a smartphone without securely deleting the memory? This poses a major data protection risk - regardless of whether the phone is given away, sold or scrapped.
Before doing this, you should back up any data that may still exist, from photos to messages. At least the ones you want to keep. And: Don't forget to remove the SIM card and - if available - the memory card (SD card), the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) advises.
Simply deleting is usually not enough
But gone is not always safe. Because to safely erase the smartphone's memory, it is not always enough to simply reset the device to the factory settings, warns the BSI.
So that no data can be restored, data encryption should be activated in the settings of the mobile device under Security if it has not already been done. Only then does a reset of the smartphone mean that data can no longer be read out. The same procedure applies to tablets.
Many old devices are slumbering in the drawers
According to a recent survey by Bitkom Research, almost 200 million old mobile phones are unused in households in this country. Almost two thirds (64 percent) of those surveyed stated that they had disposed of or sold a cell phone or smartphone in the past.
Not even every third person (29 percent) had reset the device to delete the data on it. 1004 people aged 16 and over were interviewed.
BSI tips for securely deleting mobile devices