Destroying depreciated iPads and tablets
Or at least the confidential data on them. It seems pretty clear to me that depleted tablets can contain quite a bit of confidential data. Addresses, emails and photo/film is of course the first thing you think of but a deprecated tablet can obviously contain all sorts of things. Moreover, almost every tablet user has one or more cloud accounts such as me.com – gmail.com etc. So in the hands of cybercriminals, your old tablet can cause major drama. A little handy hacker not only has the data on your tablet or iPad but can also access your cloud account. A defective or incomplete tablet or iPad can also cause unpleasant surprises.
Doesn’t the access code provide security then?
A lot of all tablet users put a lock on their tablet, obviously to prevent unauthorized use. This can be a code but also fingerprint. It is indeed true that – especially with new models – these kinds of safeguards keep the tablet really well and securely locked. We at IT Recycling assume that the lock of an iPad cannot be cracked and of a new Android tablets probably not either. Still, a tablet or iPad that is locked is a risk, because you can simply connect a tablet to a computer with a cable and then suddenly a lot of files can be accessed. It is certainly not the case that you can get all the data from the tablet with a cable. But at least the photos and movies, everyone can see those right away. Also, some models have separate SD cards and are not behind an access code when you put them in the card reader.
How should you destroy data on a depleted iPad or tablet?
Actually, this works just like a cell phone. You can give the tablet a hard-reset, the tablet then reports that all data will be erased. If the tablet is going to be used, you must first disconnect the cloud account. This is necessary otherwise the next user can not do anything with the tablet. While a hard reset may seem to safely erase all data, it is still not safe. There are tools and ways to reverse the hard reset. So you have to overwrite the entire memory of the tablet after the hard reset. You read nonsense tips on the Internet that you then have to fill the whole memory with movies, this of course really inconvenient. What works well is special wipe software. If you Googled on it you will come across some free tools left and right. The very best tools is probably Blancco – and we at IT Recycling use it. But Blancco is also not cheap and for the hobbyist definitely very difficult to use. So if you want to hand over a tablet without a care in the world you should
- Disconnect account
- Hard-reset
- Wiping
Especially if this kind of thing is not done on a daily basis, this will cost you quite a lot of time. Also, if your tablet is defective or incomplete you should not let it out of your hands, because defect can be repaired. You will then have to take it apart, which is certainly a difficult job.
Having your old iPad or tablet bought up by a buyer who promises to erase the data
There are websites that want to buy up your old tablet, you can then send in your tablet. This really seems like an unacceptable risk to me. Packages get lost in the mail (especially nice packages with tablets in them) and it is impossible to estimate how reliably such a website handles your confidential data. By the way, those websites do want you to disconnect your cloud account, so you should still do that.
Having old tablets picked up by a computer recycling
Well convenient then they can go with the other computer waste! A number of computer recycling companies offer data destruction on depleted tablets. But by no means every computer recycler can destroy data on tablets! Check their website first to see if they offer data destruction on cell phones, then they can do the same with tablets. Destroying data on a tablet normally costs somewhere between 5 and 10 euros. Some computer recycling companies also want to buy up discarded tablets, mist they are not too old of course. It is important to only use a computer recycling company that is WEEELABEX certified! This is a legally required certification in the field of recycling and data destruction. It is also a certification that sets the bar very high, which is why only the very best recyclers meet this standard. IT Recycling offers both data destruction and buyout of expired mobile tablets. Tablets we buy up are wiped and tablets that are unsaleable are dismantled and shredded, right here in our warehouse.
Safest solution: tablets shredded on site
And under your watchful eye, of course. Some computer recyclers offer on-site hard disk destruction, with a shredder in a truck. Such a shredder can also shred tablets. This is always more expensive than data destruction based on pickup and later destruction. But also much safer, because you can see with your own eyes what is happening. Incidentally, shredding tablets on location is much more difficult than it seems because first the battery and screen have to be removed. The battery and screen are not allowed in the shredder, that is a legal requirement. Moreover, that battery can cause fire. We have a safe and quick method and special tools to dismantle tablets. As mentioned there are a few providers who claim to be able to destroy tablets on site, but in practice it is quite disappointing. Some time back I read in the side that a colleague’s mobile shredder was burned to the ground by injudiciously shredding tablets. The customer’s premises would have caught fire as well! As far as I know, IT Recycling is actually the only company in the Netherlands that does this properly. Moreover, we are the only one with WEEELABEX certification and the only one that can shred as fine as 9mm on site. The latter is rather important, if you shred larger then tablet motherboards fall through whole or they are not shredded properly. Contact us soon to have your old iPad or tablet disposed of safely.