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Learn the essential steps to fully wipe your phone and protect your data before selling it.
Written by Sneha Kashyap, Content and PR Executive | Conscious Consumption and Tech Trends
Last updated on 18 September 2026
Selling your phone? Before handing it over to someone else, you must remove your personal information and make sure the device is ready for its next owner.
Our phones contain a reservoir of information about our lives, be it photos, messages, contacts, emails, saved passwords, payment information, or access to online accounts. All of this can seem overwhelming when you’re upgrading and need to wipe your data. The good news is that most iPhones and Androids already have built-in tools to securely erase your personal data.
In this guide, we'll explain how to delete everything from your phone,, what to do before performing a factory reset, and how to prepare your phone before selling it.
A factory reset will erase the data stored on your phone, so make sure you've completed these steps first.
Before you reset your phone:
✅ Back up your important data, including photos, contacts, messages and files.
✅ Check your backup to make sure everything you want to keep has transferred successfully.
✅ Sign out of your accounts where required.
✅ Remove payment cards from Apple Pay, Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet.
✅ Unpair connected devices, such as an Apple Watch or other smartwatches.
✅ Remove your physical SIM card and any microSD card.
✅ If you're using an eSIM, check whether you need to transfer your mobile plan before erasing it.
✅ Make sure you know your Apple Account or Google Account login details before starting.
Once you've checked everything you want to keep, you can safely move on to deleting the data from your phone.
If you're wondering how to clear all the data on an iPhone before selling it, Apple's built-in erase function can remove your personal information and return the device to its setup screen. The exact menu names can vary slightly depending on your iOS version, but the process is broadly the same.
Before you delete everything from your iPhone, make sure your important data has been backed up. You can use iCloud or a computer to create a backup.
iCloud:
Go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup → Back Up Now.
Wait for the backup to complete before continuing.
Mac or PC:
Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable. Open Finder on a Mac or the Apple Devices app/iTunes where applicable on a PC, select your iPhone and choose the option to back up your device.
Check that your most recent backup has completed before wiping your phone.
For security, a smartwatch or speaker must be disconnected from your iPhone.
Unpair your Smartwatch:
Open the Watch app → My Watch → Tap the ‘i’ icon next to the watch you want to unpair → Unpair Apple Watch.
First, access the Wallet or Apple Pay app to protect your financial information. You need to repeat the process with each card connected to your Apple Pay.
Remove Your Card from Apple Pay
Go to Settings → Wallet and Apple Pay → Select your card → Tap on the ‘more options’ icon (three dots in the top right corner) → Remove Card.
Sign out of all social media, email, and other apps with your login details saved.
Disable iMessage
Navigate to Settings → Messages → Sign out and then switch off iMessage.
Go to Settings → Tap on your Apple ID banner → Tap Sign out at the bottom → Enter your password to confirm.
Erase Your Saved Passwords
Go to Settings → scroll down to Passwords → Click Edit in the top right corner → Select all and tap Delete in the top left corner.
Clear Browser History
Go to Settings → Safari → Privacy & Security → Clear history and website data → Confirm
Use a SIM ejector tool or paperclip to remove your SIM card before resetting.
If you have an eSIM, you can choose to erase your eSIM or keep it. If you erase your eSIM, you need to contact your carrier to reactivate your cellular plan.
You should only reset your iPhone to factory settings after completing the steps above.
Settings → General → Reset → Erase All Content and Settings.
This final step will help remove your iPhone's serial number from your Apple user account.
Go to appleid.apple.com → Sign in with your Apple ID login → Go to Devices → Select your iPhone → Click Remove from Account.
Ready to Sell Your iPhone?
Your iPhone is wiped and ready for its next owner. Find out how much you could get for it.
For Android phones, the exact steps to clear your data may look slightly different depending on whether you have a Samsung Galaxy, or Google Pixel, or another flagship. However, the overall process is straightforward.
Firstly, if you have turned off app sync, your Google apps won't be synced automatically to your Google account when doing a backup.
Sync Google Account
Go to Settings → Accounts and Backup → Manage Accounts → ensure Auto Sync Data is ON.
If you want apps outside of Google services included in your backup, you will need to visit each app's settings individually and sync them manually.
You will also need to upload the most recent version of your phone to your Google or Samsung cloud account.
Google/Samsung Cloud Backup
Go to Settings → Accounts and Backup → Back Up Data (choose Google Drive or Samsung Cloud).
Delete Browsing History
Open your web browser settings → click 'History' → then tap on 'Clear browsing data'.
Remove Your Saved Passwords
Go to your browser app → click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner → scroll down to 'Settings' → select 'Passwords'. Tap on each password individually and tap the bin icon.
Google Pay
Open the app → Tap on card → Go to 'More Options' in the top right corner → Click 'Remove Payment Method'
Samsung Pay
Open the 'Samsung Pay app' → Tap on 'Payment Cards' at the top → Select the card you want to remove → Tap on 'more options' (the three vertical dots) to delete it.
Whether you use Google Pay or Samsung Pay, you need to repeat the process with all of your cards.
Each manufacturer has its own cloud account service paired with a Google account, which needs to be removed.
Android Version 11 or later
Go to Settings → Accounts and Backup → Manage Accounts → Tap on each cloud account (Samsung, Google) and tap on Remove account.
Android Version 10 or earlier
Go to Settings → Accounts and Backup → Manage Accounts → Tap on each cloud account (Samsung, Google) → Tap on ‘More Options’ (three vertical dots in the top right corner) → Click Remove.
Log in to your 'Google account' → go to 'Security' → look for 'Your Devices' → click 'Manage Devices' → select your 'Android phone' → click 'Remove'.
Use the SIM card ejector tool included with your phone or a paperclip to open the SIM card slot and take out your SIM card and any external memory cards you have.
Open your Settings app → Go to 'General Management' and 'Reset' in the menu → Tap on 'Reset All Settings'.
Ready to Sell Your Android?
You've removed your personal data. Now find out what your phone could be worth.
Yes. If your phone has been lost or stolen, you may be able to remotely erase it using the account and device-finding service associated with the phone.
You can use Apple's Find My service to locate your iPhone and remotely erase it.
You can access Find My through any Apple device, including another iPhone. Once you’ve found your device, select it and follow the on-screen instructions to clear the data remotely.
If the iPhone is offline, the erase request may remain pending until it reconnects.
Android devices can use Google's device-finding service to locate, secure or erase a supported device remotely. Sign in to the relevant Google account, select your missing phone and look for the option to erase the device.
As with an iPhone, the phone may need to reconnect to the internet before a pending erase request can be completed.
NOTE: Remote wiping is primarily designed for a lost or stolen phone. If you still have your phone and you're preparing it for sale, it's better to follow the normal backup, account-removal and factory-reset process above.
Once you have completed the factory reset on your old phone, you can check out how much your phone is worth. The condition, model, storage capacity and demand for your device can all affect its value, so comparing offers can help you find a competitive price.
Once you’ve picked your offer, complete the order form and post your phone. Once the recycler receives your phone, they will grade it according to their methods and you will usually be paid within two working days.
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