Your two year old Android device does not feel as fast as the day you got it initially. New software updates, demanding apps and ultimately time, have taken a toll on its performance, battery life and build quality. While your phone might have had top-notch specs back in the day, it is now easily beaten in performance by 100$ Android devices. 

It is now time for you to sell your Android device or trade it in for something bigger, better and faster. But before you bid a final adieu to your beloved Android device, you need to follow the tips mentioned below to make sure that your personal data does not end up in someone’s else hand.

Create a backup

Before you head over to do a hard reset, make sure to backup all your important data from the phone. While your Contacts and Email will already be in the cloud, you will have to use certain apps and services to backup your messages and other media files.

Even if all your data is already on the cloud, it is always better to double check them. Also, keep in mind that since you cannot transfer app and game data in Android from one device to another, you will have to forego some of your game and app data in the process.

Do a hard reset

This is perhaps the most important step to do before you sell your Android device. To wipe the handset clean of all your contents and personal data, head over to Settings -> Backup & Reset and select the ‘Factory Data Reset’ option. If your device has a microSD card slot and you want to format it as well, make sure to scroll down and select the option to format your external memory as well before tapping the ‘Reset Phone’ option.

However, technically it is still possible for your data to be accessible by many advanced users. In case you are paranoid about your data and don’t mind taking a few extra steps, encrypt your Android device (from Settings -> Security) and then do a hard reset. This way, you can be pretty much sure of your data being erased forever and never making its way to someone’s else hands.

Clean your device

It is always a good thing to clean your Android device before you sell it on Craigslist or trade in at your local wireless operator store. This is a great way of getting a slightly higher value for your Android device. Plus, you don’t want the future owner of your device to think how gross the last owner of this smartphone was, do you?

If you have some other accessories or cases lying around for your phone and you are not going to use, give it to the buyer as well.

Got any other tip for fellow readers? Drop in a comment and let us know!