How to Safely Wipe Your Data Before Selling

In 2026, your device knows everything about you. Here is how to make sure your private life stays private.

Our devices hold our banking apps, private messages, biometric data, and years of photos. If you're planning to sell your electronics to Strictli.tech (or anywhere else), the most important step isn't the packaging—it's the data sanitization.

Follow our 2026 checklist to ensure your device is a clean slate before it leaves your hands.

Step 1: The Pre-Wipe Essentials

Before you hit "Delete," ensure you aren't locking yourself out of your own life:

Back it Up: Ensure iCloud, Google Drive, or OneDrive has synced.
Unpair Accessories: Disconnect your Apple Watch or Bluetooth headphones.
Sign Out: Manually sign out of "Find My," iMessage, and the App Store. Activation Lock can make a device worthless if not disabled.

Step 2: Wiping an iPhone (iOS 26)

Go to Settings > General.
Select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
Choose to Erase eSIM (unless moving it to a new phone immediately).
Enter your Apple ID password to turn off "Find My."

Step 3: Wiping a Windows Laptop (Windows 11)

A standard format isn't enough; you need Data Scrubbing:

Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC.
Select Remove everything.
Crucial: Click "Change settings" and toggle Clean data to ON. This overwrites the drive so data cannot be recovered.

Step 4: Wiping a Chromebook (Powerwash)

Sign out of your Chromebook.
Press and hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R.
Select Restart, then click Powerwash.

🛡️ The "Strictli" Security Guarantee

We provide a two-layer security protocol for every device we buy:

Layer 1: We encourage you to follow the steps above before shipping.
Layer 2: Once it arrives, our technicians perform a NIST 800-88 compliant software wipe. This ensures 100% of storage sectors are cleared before the device is ever resold.