Clear data before selling change cell phone SAFELY! Encrypt

Surely you know that it is necessary to do a factory reset on your device before selling it or exchanging it for another. This is as simple as going to Android system settings, General management, Reset, Reset to defaults. This process returns the device to its default settings and deletes all your data in the internal memory, including applications and games, something you will want to do if you do not want a third party to have access to your WhatsApp data, private photos or even apps and bank accounts . However, there are some details that you may not know but are important.

For example, on old devices with Android 5 and lower versions, even if you do a factory reset and all your applications and data are deleted, these can be recovered by the person in possession of the computer using forensic data recovery software. It is for this reason that in these versions of Android it is recommended to previously encrypt the device before doing the factory reset. Encryption basically “scrambles” or “merges” the data with a key that the Android system requests before the process, so that even though it could be retrieved later, it is simply “incomprehensible” or “unreadable” without the decryption key.

In Android 5 and lower versions it is advisable to encrypt the cell phone or its internal memory before restoring the factory settings, so that after this data deletion, the information cannot be recovered by the person who has the equipment.

From Android 6 onwards, manufacturers are obliged to offer “pre-encrypted” devices by default, so in this case it is no longer necessary to encrypt the phone before restoring data. In fact, current versions of Android no longer even have the option to “Encrypt device” for that reason. However, it is recommended that the device have a lock screen configured with PIN or password (not pattern or face unlock) so that factory encryption is “associated” with that PIN or password and is more “robust”. Once you have configured that lock screen you can proceed to restore the default values ​​of the device.

This is a feature that was implemented in Android 5.1 onwards and takes effect after a factory reset. Request the username and password of the Google account that was registered on the computer before undergoing the formatting. The idea is obviously that the device is useless if it has been stolen. This is a functionality that you will want to deactivate if you are going to sell or give your Android to someone else, so that you do not have problems when configuring the device from scratch. To do this, before restoring the device, you must delete your Google account or accounts that are registered on the cell phone. It is also recommended that you disable the lock screen. Yes, I said the opposite before to avoid data recovery, but if that is your concern, first perform the restore with lock screen activated, and then delete your Google accounts, deactivate this screen and perform another restoration.

More information about encryption on Android: Android.com

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