Android: How to remove all data from your device

HOW DO I FORMAT AND DEFRAGMENT MY HARD DRIVE?

August 24, 2024 at 20:00

If you sell your Android devices, you should definitely remove all data. We’ll show you how to reset your smartphone to factory settings.

Android: How to remove all data from your device

Android: Preparing for data destruction
Encrypt files
Reset device to factory settings
Overwrite free space
Reset as a repair measure
Android: Create a backup in advance

Over time, your smartphone collects more and more sensitive and private files such as your photos, videos or audio recordings. If you want to sell your phone, you should not take any risks and delete all your files before they fall into the wrong hands.

However, a regular reset of your device cannot guarantee that the new owner will not be able to recover the contents. You must take additional measures to securely delete your files.

Android: Preparing for data destruction

In this guide, we’ll show you how to do it. In the next sections, we’ll explain how to reset your device to factory settings. However, we recommend that you create a backup first. You can find out how to perform a comprehensive data backup of your Android device in the instructions at the end of this article.

If you have already created a backup, you can start removing the data. To do this, simply follow the instructions below step by step. To do this, start by encrypting your files.

Important for older Android versions

Since Android 6.0 Marshmallow, encryption of data stored on Android devices has been activated by default. Anyone using an older version of Android on their device should subsequently activate this feature to make it more difficult to recover the data.

Encrypt files

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Open the settings on your smartphone and tap on the menu item “Security”. Next, click on “Additional settings” further down.
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In the “Additional settings” section, go to “Encryption and login data”. There you can have your memory card encrypted.

Reset device to factory settings

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Now it’s time to perform a factory reset. You can usually find the corresponding setting under the menu item “System and Updates” in the settings of your Android device. Then go to the item “Reset”.
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In this area you have various options such as “Reset all settings” or “Reset network settings” as well as “Reset phone”. However, depending on the manufacturer, the path for the factory reset may vary slightly.
This will delete all settings and files from your phone or tablet. The device will automatically restart during the process.

Overwrite free space

After the internal memory of your Android device has been deleted and the restart has been completed, you will find yourself on the initialization screen. Set up the device again with your WiFi access and Google account.
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Now download the free app iShredder and open the app. Of course, you can also use other apps that guarantee secure data deletion. The app will then ask you to confirm permission to use it on your phone in order to delete the contents of your SD card.
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Next, you can choose between “Selective Delete” and “Data Manager”. Under the first point, you can select the files you want to delete. Then click “Next” at the bottom. You can then choose the method and then tap “Open Summary”. Finally, you will be asked to choose the overwrite method and then click “Shred”. Repeat this process several times if necessary. The process can take quite a while depending on the size of your storage.
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The iShredder app is available in a “free” version, but some functions require a paid upgrade. This includes shredding photos, videos and voice messages. In the settings (gear symbol) you can view the various functions of the shredder or the deletion reports.

Reset as a repair measure

If you only have problems with your own Android smartphone and don’t want to sell it, you can also reset it to factory settings. Just take a look at our instructions on the subject.

Android: Create a backup in advance

Before you delete all data from your device, you should create a backup in case you want to use the data for some reason or restore it to another device.