How do I erase my photos before I sell or trade in my phone?

The new phone is in the box. The old one is about to go to a buyer, a trade-in program or a younger sibling. You start to delete photos one by one to be safe. Then you stop and wonder if you deleted them everywhere. The safe order is the opposite of what feels natural. Move everything first, sign out, and only then erase the whole phone. This page walks through that order on iPhone and Android, and what to do with a photo vault. We checked each step against Apple’s and Google’s own pages on 2026-10-08.

Do not delete photos by hand

Apple puts this warning at the top of its own guide: “When you’re logged into iCloud with your Apple Account, manually deleting items will permanently remove them.” That includes photos, “from iCloud servers and all your connected devices.”

So a photo you delete on the old iPhone also leaves your iPad, your Mac and the new iPhone. Deleted photos sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days, so you may have time to undo it. Our Recently Deleted guide shows how. The right way to clear an old phone is to sign out first and erase the whole device.

Before you erase: move what you want to keep

1. Back up the old phone. On iPhone, a backup lets you set up a new iPhone with the same data.
2. Move your data. Apple’s Quick Start moves data from an old iPhone to a new one. On iPhone, you can also go to Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Get Started to use free iCloud storage for the move.
3. Move each app that keeps its own data. Some apps keep data that a device backup does not carry. Photo vaults, chat apps with local history and authenticator apps are common cases. Check each one before you erase.
4. Check for open repairs. Look in Parts and Service History. Apple says a part that shows Finish Repair must be finished before a trade-in.

Erase an iPhone

1. Unpair your Apple Watch, if you have one.
2. Open Settings, tap your name, scroll down and tap Sign Out. On iOS 26 and later, Apple offers Erase this [Device] or Sign Out But Don’t Erase. Choose to erase when you sell. If you are asked which account, tap Sign out of iCloud and Store.
3. Go to Settings, tap General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone.
4. Tap Erase All Content and Settings. Enter your passcode or Apple Account password if asked, then tap Continue.
5. If you have an eSIM, choose whether to erase it. If you erase it, your carrier has to reactivate your plan.

Apple says that if Find My was on, “Activation Lock is removed when you erase iPhone, making it ready for a new owner.” For a trade-in or a repair, iOS 27 adds Ready for Repair or Trade-In in the Find My app. If you switch to Android, also deregister iMessage, and remove the old phone from your trusted devices. Our new iPhone guide covers moving a photo vault in detail.

Erase an Android phone

1. Know your Google Account. Open Settings, tap Accounts, and note the account. Google asks you to confirm the password on another device first.
2. Back up to your Google Account. Google says a factory reset erases your data, and “all apps and their data will be uninstalled.”
3. Remove your Google Account. Device protection ties the phone to your account. Google says “to turn off device protection, remove your Google Account from your device.” Without this step, a buyer may be locked out after the reset.
4. Charge and connect. Google says a reset can take up to an hour. Charge the phone to at least 70% and connect it to Wi-Fi or mobile data.
5. Reset through Settings. Menu names differ by phone maker, so follow the steps on your phone maker’s support site.

If you already handed the phone over

Apple’s advice: contact the new owner and ask them to erase it. If the phone is lost or stolen, erase it in Find Devices on iCloud.com. Then change your Apple Account password, so the new owner cannot delete your data from iCloud. Our page on a lost phone covers the recovery side.

Where York Vault fits

York Vault keeps its library in its own encrypted storage, on iPhone and Android. Erasing the old phone deletes that storage too. So move your library before you erase:

• Phone to phone. The old phone shows a QR code, and the new phone scans it. Items move over local Wi-Fi, encrypted with a one-time key, with no internet needed. This works between iPhone and Android in both directions. See moving between iPhone and Android.
• From your backup. On a new phone on the same platform, York Vault finds its backup in your iCloud or Google Drive. Your code or recovery key opens it. An iCloud backup does not restore to Android, and a Drive backup does not restore to iPhone.

After either path, a restore check counts every item on the new phone. Wait for a full count, such as 1,204 of 1,204, before you erase the old one. The help pages for moving to a new iPhone and moving between iPhone and Android walk through each screen.

Sending the phone for repair instead? See phone repair privacy. Download York Vault for iPhone or Android.