A study has revealed that 61 percent of consumers don't get rid of their old handsets predominantly due to privacy concerns.
Lookout's nationwide Google Consumer Survey found that a considerable proportion of cellphone owners keep their old mobile device. Apparently, should you line up these handsets across the country end-to-end, there would be a trail from San Francisco to the North Pole and back.
One of the major reasons of consumers keeping old cellphones is due to privacy. Many of those surveyed said they didn't wish to throw an old phone away as it may contain personal information or due to the risk of personal information being exposed.
27 percent said they don't know what to do with the device after they've replaced it, while six percent of consumers want access to information and apps stored on the handset.
Lookout suggested several methods in how to give one's old phone a purpose:
- Save the data. Some might want to save photos and other content from an old phone, and there are several options available, depending largely on the device type. For Android, Lookout Premium backs up photos and contacts and can restore data to a new device. iPhone owners can use iCloud to back up and store important data.
- Wipe it clean. It’s important to remove data off of your unwanted phone before reselling, donating or recycling. For Android, Lookout Premium can wipe personal information, restoring the phone to its original settings. For other device types, do a Google search on how to factory reset. Factory resetting will restore an old phone to its original state, erasing apps, photos, contacts, call logs and more.
- Ditch the SIM. If your phone is equipped with a SIM card, it’s important that you remove it. Doing so will further ensure that none of your phone’s previous information will be passed on to a future owner.
Around 86 out of 100 people in the world own at least one cell phone; there's over 6 billion cell phone subscribers.
