Getting rid of an Android phone or tablet? You'll need to wipe your personal data from it - here's how
If you’re giving away or selling an Android device, you’ll need to wipe it and restore it to factory settings, and it’s a good idea to wipe a phone or tablet you no longer use anyway, even if it’s just going to be lying around the house in a drawer.
To wipe your device, pull down the notification panel by swiping down from the top of your phone’s screen, and then tap on the Settings cogwheel in the bottom right-hand corner.
In the Settings app that launches, scroll down to System, and then tap Advanced to bring up more options. Then tap Reset options and on the next screen, tap Erase all data (factory reset).
You’ll be presented with a screen that warns you that you’re about to delete all your data and files from the phone. Review this and make sure you’ve backed up files that aren’t stored in Google’s cloud, such as music files, documents etc. Once you’re happy that you’ve backed everything up, go ahead and hit the Delete all data button at the bottom of the screen.
If you’re giving away or selling the phone, you can also check that it’s been removed from your Google account: go to https://myaccount.google.com/device-activity, where you’ll see a list of all the devices – Android, iOS, Windows and macOS – that are signed in to your Google account. It’s worth signing out on this page of any devices you’re not using for added security.
