Filed under: iPhone, iPhone 101, iPod touch
iPhone 101: Don't forget to wipe... your iPhone's data
Stepping up to a shiny new 3GS? Thinking about selling your old iPhone on eBay or craigslist? Don't forget to wipe!I buy iPhones from time to time to unlock and offer to our local customers. One such phone arrived today and I eagerly opened the box to get things prepared. After charging the dead iPhone for a while, I powered it on and was greeted with tons of personal information about the previous owner.
The phone was loaded up with three accounts full of literally thousands of emails, 107 contacts, 974 songs, a few dozen photos and a handful of apps -- all still happily filling the 8GB. There were faxed checks related to the previous owner's sales position, visual voicemails available to anyone's ears, and a huge log full of text messages.
The previous owner hadn't deleted anything before sending his iPhone off to a complete stranger! While I was taking care of that important step for him, I thought "This is a perfect opportunity to save some TUAW readers from this sort of embarrassment, not to mention potential ID theft, with a quick reminder."
Clearing all of the data from your iPhone was made simple with the 2.0 firmware update last year.
- Go to Settings
- Tap on General
- Scroll all the way down and tap Reset
- Choose Erase All Content and Settings
- Confirm (twice) that you REALLY want to lose everything
Once the process is complete, you'll be left with a "factory fresh" installation of the iPhone OS with no trace of you or your data, and you can safely sell it and upgrade to the latest and greatest model. Oh, and do me a favor -- if I'm the auction winner, include a working sync cable this time!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TheIcemanCometh said 10:28AM on 8-23-2009
I've done this very thing twice now with both of the previous model iPhones I've sold on eBay. What ignoramus wouldn't?
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Martin said 10:29AM on 8-23-2009
I'd imagine most ignoramus' wouldn't. That's why they're ignoramuses to begin with.
Howie Isaacks said 10:33AM on 8-23-2009
The problem here is that a lot of people just have not conceptualized the idea that data is property. It's property that needs to be protected as vigorously as any other thing that we own. It probably never even occurred to this person that their data could be used against them. They probably don't backup their computer either. Ignorance is dangerous. I'm almost tempted to say that when something bad happens because you refuse to learn the importance of protecting you data, you deserve the consequences of your inaction and ignorance.
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Duncan said 3:14AM on 8-24-2009
Thanks for the update on what a lot of people do and why they do it.
I dont think anyone who takes the time to read TUAW wouldnt realize that. Its a fairly easy conclusion to draw, and Im sorry you wasted the time writing it.
Chris said 10:33AM on 8-23-2009
I cant even begin to imagine how stupid you would have to be to leave everything on your iPhone before you sold it. Either this guy has so much money that ID theft would make no difference to him, or he just has no common sense. In either case he should praise Kevin for not tweeting this guys info all over the world! ; ) Thanks for the tip!
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cineologist said 10:33AM on 8-23-2009
Why go through all that hassle when you can use the convenience of Remote Wipe? Just log into your MobileMe account and remote wipe. That's like 2 steps.
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Kevin Harter said 10:37AM on 8-23-2009
Agreed... IF you have a MobileMe account. The above method works on any 2.0+ iPhone or iPod touch.
Stephen.4 said 12:25PM on 8-23-2009
The above method isn't much of a hassle... It's probably quick than logging into MobileMe.
Dustin said 1:31PM on 8-23-2009
@Stephen.4
Have you ever tried the above method?
LAGal said 7:51PM on 8-23-2009
because the info is still there, including all your mobile me mails, for someone to read. and if they are smart enough they can turn off the remote wipe and you can't do anything about your data
and actually if you really wanted it to be factory fresh, do a full restore.
mark said 10:51AM on 8-23-2009
I've performed this process numerous times and am always left at an Apple logo/spinning wheel, and never the springboard.
What I've always had to do is press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button until the phone shuts off. Continue holding the Home button, and plug it in via USB to your Mac and iTunes will identify the iPhone as being in recovery mode. Now just press the option key on your Mac and click the restore button and select whatever firmware you'd like to put back on the iPhone.
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Kevin Harter said 12:07PM on 8-23-2009
If you choose to do a Restore on your iPhone as a way to get rid of the personal data, make sure you sign out of your iTunes account. You can do so by going to the Store menu in iTunes on your Mac and choosing Sign Out before you restore. If you have already restored, simply go into iTunes on your iPhone or iPod touch, scroll all the way to the bottom, tap on your email address and choose Sign Out from the pop-up.
Keep in mind that forensics experts may be able to retrieve your data regardless of the method you use. Lesson: don't do bad stuff.
Michelle said 10:53AM on 8-23-2009
Is it possible that the person who sent it to you doesn't care about the data because he or she is not the owner, but the person who stole it from the owner? Or do you take some steps to guard against that possibility?
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Kevin Harter said 12:07PM on 8-23-2009
The seller's name matched some of the data on the iPhone. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't stolen and then used by that individual. But I prefer to look for the best in people and have no reason whatsoever to believe it was stolen. If I thought so, I wouldn't have purchased it.
I suppose you run that risk with ANYthing you buy... Whether it be from eBay, craigslist, your local shopper, a garage sale, or even from some stores!
Nancy said 11:00AM on 8-23-2009
Or it could be the phone was lost or stolen and then sold.
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ecobore said 11:17AM on 8-23-2009
I have a first gen iPhone 8Gb which I will soon want to sell as I will upgrade to the 3Gs. It has been officially unlocked by France telecom (when it is plugged into iTunes initially it shows that it is being unlocked..) I just want to check that if I wipe it clean it will still unlock OK for the new purchaser. (I imagine it will as I should think the unlock is tied to the IMEI.) but any comments much appreciated. Similarly if anybody is interested to buy soon. Thanks
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Kevin Harter said 12:07PM on 8-23-2009
I'm not an expert in international iPhones, mind you, but I believe that the officially unlocked models are hardware-unlocked. Thus, the unlock should remain intact.
parisi2274 said 11:15AM on 8-23-2009
This is very useful and I would suggest that anyone upgrading to the 3GS do this.
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eyezberg said 11:39AM on 8-23-2009
Funny this gets posted today, as I just spent about an hour erasing all my personal data. As the 3G is jailbroken and I didn't want to go through the process again, and reinstall any apps, I opted for manually removing all my data - just need to make sure you don't forget any (hope I didn't):
- erase all mails, empty bin, delete mail accounts
- remove your local weather setting if you don't want to leave any indication about your whereabouts
- remove your photos: easy on a PC, don't know if this works on Mac: connect to computer, I then choose to import all with Picasa and select the "erase all when done": nothing was left over
- delete all your contacts (one by one..)
- log out from Facebook if installed
- delete all your other accounts in Apps such as Tweeting etc
- go through your Seetings and check if anything is still there
What did I miss..?
As far as Orange SIM-unlocking (@ecobore), mine was too, and remained so even after jailbreak. It's tied to the Phones number indeed.
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Rob said 1:59PM on 8-23-2009
Wouldn't simply doing a restore been a lot easier that going in and deleting everything one by one??