After all my recent posts about the benefits of the iPhone 3G-S, I thought it might be prudent to address the security concerns involved with disposing of your old iPhone after you decide to upgrade. Attorneys should always be concerned about protecting their client’s information. Amid reports that it is possible to recover data off old iPhones, everyone should utilize the following steps to minimize the chances of your information being compromised:
- Restore the iPhone from within iTunes.
- On the "Info" tab, un-check all options so you don’t synchronize calendars, email, bookmarks, and contacts.
- On the Photos, Podcasts, and Video tabs, uncheck "Sync …".
- Create 3 big playlists at large as the storage capacity of your iPhone.
- On the Music tab, select the first of your 3 playlists to sync. Make sure the storage bar at the bottom looks full after syncing.
- Sync your iPhone, change to the next playlist, sync again, and repeat one last time.
Source: "Formatting An iPhone To Wipe Data" by Rich Mogull, published at the Securosis blog.
