On September 12 – just as they do every year – Apple unveiled their newest product lineup, including the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8+, and iPhone X. With these announcements there are surely thousands upon thousands of Apple fans waiting patiently (or not so patiently) to swap their old phones for some new devices. For most people this upgrade – or upgrading any piece of tech equipment, really – means tucking the old device away as a backup in case the new device breaks, or is misplaced or stolen.
For many people, having a backup phone is merely a common sense precaution. However, having an old phone lying around when you’ve purchased your new device can actually be a security risk, although this isn’t likely to cross your mind. After all – when your old phone is sitting in a drawer, all someone has to do is turn it on (and probably charge it up) and voila!, they can connect to wi-fi and have access to anything you didn’t preemptively wipe from your phone. And why would you have wiped your phone? It’s just sitting in your own drawer, waiting to be your own backup. If you wipe it, you have to re-add everything should you need it as a spare. But if you don’t… your phone is an easy target for anyone looking to get at some or all of your personal information, not to mention the information of anyone within your contact list or that you’re connected to on social media sites.
So, we’ve laid out a case for why you should wipe your phone before tucking it away as your backup plan – but what do you do when you’ve got a stockpile of phones, or you just aren’t keeping your old phone for whatever reason? The answer is definitely not to just toss them in the trash. As with your personal computers and tablets, your cell phones – smart or otherwise – should be properly recycled. After all, doing a factory reset on your phone is the same as doing it on your computer – the information may seem like it’s gone, but an experienced data criminal may be able to restore some or all of it, or find fragments of information hidden deep in the recesses of your device’s hard drive. Even if you’re replacing your phone because it’s broken, you should still make sure that you’re taking all proper security measures and recycling it, rather than just throwing it away.
In addition to recycling laptops, personal computers, tablets, and other large electronic devices, Data Recycling of New England also recycles all types of cell phones free of charge – all you have to do is pay the shipping expenses to get your old gear to us. Or, you may participate in the various Collection Day recycling events many schools and organizations host. Please note, however, that if your device (of any kind) is registered to a business or school account it is important to unenroll it before sending it, otherwise we will not be able to properly wipe the device.
For more information give us a call at (508) 822-2054 or email us at info@datarecyclingne.com.
