Recently, there was quite a buzz in the UK over a study that showed a high percentage of cell phones and SIM cards acquired on the second-hand market still containing personal data from their previous owners. A company called the CPP Group went on eBay and to various used electronics shops and purchased 35 cell phones and 50 SIM cards. After poking around their new toys using well-known methods and tools, they found that over 50% of the devices still contained personal data from their previous owners; 247 pieces of information in total. This information included passwords, phones numbers, bank account details, PIN numbers, and logins to various social networking sites.

As alarming as their findings are, we here at YouRenew can’t say that we’re surprised. We process devices every day where customers have forgotten to erase phone numbers, music, text messages, and… interesting… photos. Because of all this, we chose in the very beginning to take security seriously. If you choose to recycle your devices with us, we will guarantee you a few things:

• Every single device that is processed in our facilities is wiped of all data and reset to the factory settings using manufacturer-provided processes and tools. We do this regardless of whether or not you’ve wiped the device yourself before sending it to us. This includes any extra memory cards you’ve included with the device.
• Any device we process that we cannot wipe ourselves is not resold. It is instead shredded down to its component materials by our recycling partners. We won’t risk your data getting into the hands of others.
• No device leaves our facility with a SIM card. Any prospective buyer will either already have their own, or will receive one from whichever carrier they’re dealing with.

Even if you choose not to recycle your devices with us, we strongly urge you to take precautions before passing the devices on to others:

• Never give your SIM card away. If you don’t plan on using it in your next cell phone, then destroy it. They’re fairly flimsy so you shouldn’t have much trouble doing so. Make sure you cut it up, taking care to split up the shiny gold section into several pieces.
• Wipe the data from the device itself thoroughly. If you’re unsure how, consult the device’s instruction manual (if you still have it), or check out the growing library of instructions on SecureDataWipe.com.
• Don’t forget to care for any removable memory cards you use with your device. You should either hang on to them for use in your next gadget, or make sure any files on them are removed.

The YouRenew team will always encourage you to recycle your devices instead of dumping them in a landfill, but we urge you to do so responsibly. Remember to safeguard your private information while you’re helping the environment.