The U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has some interesting findings about how many consumers either do not know how to protect their information when they are getting rid of old devices or aren’t concerned enough:
New figures reveal that three in 10 UK adults (29%) don’t know how to wipe their personal information from an old device or tech product.
With the festive period looming, over a quarter (27%) of UK adults are planning to treat themselves to a new device this Christmas. However, our latest poll found that the average Brit has three unused devices sitting at home.
Three-quarters (75%) of people have held onto at least one old device, with a fifth (20%) having done so because they are worried about their personal information.
More than two-thirds of UK adults (71%) agree that erasing your personal information is important, however almost one quarter (24%) believe that it is too difficult.
While the majority of people (84%) would make sure they have erased all their personal information from a device before they dispose of it, young people are the least concerned about their personal information. 14% of people aged 18-34 admitted they would not wipe their device at all, compared to only 4% of people over the age of 55.
One in five (21%) young people do not think it is important to wipe their personal information, while almost a quarter (23%) do not have concerns about what might happen to their data.
If you are among those who know you should delete data securely but don’t know how, you are not alone, and the ICO writes:
“We have plenty of practical advice for the public on protecting your personal data online and when using devices. Specifically, we have guidance on deleting your data from different devices, and guidance on what to do if you want to stop using a smart device.”
