What happens to the information on a phone that gets recycled?

The majority of phones that are recycled actually get re-used. But, before they can end up in an end consumer’s hand, they typically get refurbished. This is the process of cosmetically/functionally repairing a phone. During the refurbishing process phones will eventually be hooked up to a flashing station which clears out the memory of a phone in order to re-load new software onto the phone. The company that you turned your phone into does not necessarily have the capability of clearing the data of every phone that comes in their door, not to mention that it is cost prohibitive for them to do so.



However, its usually very easy for you to clear the data out of your phone before you turn it in. Go to the Security option in your main menu (or it could be under the setting menu) this menu option typically requires a password which is almost always the last 4 digits of the phone number that was registered to that phone (even if its not active). The key words to look for in the security menu are Master Reset, and Master Clear. These will usually erase your phone book, Text messages, and Call Log. If you are still having trouble, use the internet to search out your phone model + master clear.