ICO Warns of Festive Mobile Phone Privacy Snafu

The UK’s data protection regulator has warned that as many as 14 million UK adults don’t know how to wipe personal data from their mobile devices, potentially putting their privacy at risk if they replace their handsets this Christmas.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) polled over 2100 members of the public earlier in December to better understand their data security know how.

It revealed that although more than a quarter (27%) are planning to buy a new device this Christmas, nearly a third (29%) don’t know how to wipe personal info from an old device.

This means that many simply hang onto their legacy kit, with the average Brit apparently keeping three unused devices at home. Three-quarters (75%) have held onto at least one old device, with a fifth (20%) of these people doing so because they are worried about their personal information.

Read more on data privacy: UK Privacy Regulator Issues Black Friday Smart Device Warning

Almost three-quarters (71%) of UK adults agree that erasing personal information is important, but a quarter (24%) claim that it is too difficult.

More worrying still is the fact that 14% of those aged 18-34 claim they would not wipe their device at all. One in five (21%) young people say they don’t believe it’s important to do so, and almost a quarter (23%) aren’t concerned about what might happen to their data.

Suzanne Gordon, director of public advice and data protection complaints, argued that the new year would be an ideal time to declutter.

“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. For example, a factory reset via the settings can adequately erase your personal information from most mobile phones,” she explained.

“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.”

Scott Butler, executive director of Recycle Your Electricals, added that UK consumers could make themselves a little extra cash and do the planet a favor over the festive period, by safely selling on some of their old electricals.

“If they are broken, don’t forget – anything with a plug, cable or battery should never be binned and should always be reused or recycled,” he noted.