Three in 10 Brits Don’t Wipe an Old Device

29% of UK residents don’t erase their personal information from an old device before throwing it in that dusty drawer, according to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

An online survey commissioned by the ICO reveals that three in 10 UK adults don’t know how to wipe their personal information from an old device or tech product.

And those who do find it tedious.

Upgrade spirit

The poll of 2,170 UK citizens, conducted by Savanta this December, found that the average Brit has three unused devices at home. Over a quarter (27%) of adults stated they intended to treat themselves to a new device this holiday season.

While three-quarters have held onto at least one old device, a fifth have done so because they are worried about their personal information. And 71% agree that erasing your personal information is important. The results would seem encouraging, had it not been followed up with the question: why aren’t you wiping your data before throwing away that old hardware?

According to the poll, almost a quarter (24%) believe it is too difficult to navigate the settings and erase the data from the obsolete unit.

While 84% do take measures to erase their personal information from a device before they dispose of it, young people are the least concerned about their personal information.

14% of Brits aged 18-34 admitted they would not wipe their device at all, compared to only 4% of people over the age of 55.

One in five (21%) young people do not think it is important to wipe their personal information, while 23% have no concerns about what might happen to their data.

The Bitdefender 2024 Consumer Cybersecurity Assessment Report uncovered a similar syndrome: consumers engage in complacent cybersecurity practices despite knowing the dangers of doing so.

“Erasing your personal information from an old device doesn’t need to be difficult, and it means that your data can’t be accessed by anybody else, either by mistake or for malicious purposes such as fraud,” said the ICO’s Suzanne Gordon, Director of Public Advice and Data Protection Complaints. “For example, a factory reset via the settings can adequately erase your personal information from most mobile phones.”

“As the data protection regulator, we’re here to support you with advice and guidance to help you to dispose of your old devices responsibly and stay in control of your own personal information,” said Gordon.

New life for old hardware

This holiday season Bitdefender posted a comprehensive guide on the importance of wiping smart gadgets before parting with them.

Read: Why You Should Secure Smart Gadgets Before Giving Them as Gifts

As we note in our guide, old tech gizmos store troves of sensitive information, including access credentials, credit card data, activity logs, and personal files. Leaving this data on the device means you may end up passing it to others when you gift that device, throw it away, or recycle it.

Make sure to:

· Unlink from all your online accounts; do this before resetting your device so services no longer have your device on file

· Remove any external storage unit, like SD cards

· Navigate your settings menu and look for the factory reset switch; use it to restore your device to its original settings

· Double-check that you’ve successfully removed all data after reset