But do I really need a note to self for this? If you sell your current desktop PC, don't you wipe out the harddisk first to protect yourself? Even use some tool such as Heidi Computers Eraser? Well, the same concept applies to your cellphone – you must wipe out the sensitive data. The problem is that some handsets are easier to hard-reset than others; some you can't at all. This is why remote management for handsets is a good idea.
See Cell phones spill secrets.
Update: Wendong left a comment pointing to a very useful website that contains instructions on how to wipe out a variety of cellphone models — see Wireless Recycling. Check it before throwing away your old phone.
ceo
Thanks for posting, this is really important. With the kind of power cell phones have these days, people are going to be storing more and more vital information on them. In Europe they are using their cell phones for lots of financial transactions. Being able to totally erase this info will be critical. Can’t the info still be retrieved though even if you totally erase it?
It depends how the wipe-out occurs. It if is a true erase (which over-writes several times with several patterns) the answer is that it is hard to retrieve old stored information.
ceo