If your thinking it might be time to trade in your old iPhone, sell it, or give it away, it’s absolutely vital to erase all of your existing data first. This will stop your personal information from falling into the wrong hand, and reduces any headaches that can come with trying to get rid of your old device.

First, you will want to either transfer your existing data to your new phone, or at the very least have your data backed up to Apple’s iCloud. Once you have backed up your iPhone data, you can delete by performing the following:

Open Settings
Scroll down and tap “General”
Head to the bottom of the list and select “Reset”
Tap “Erase All Content and Settings”

After you’ve tapped on Erase, you will be given a chance to update to your iCloud backup before finalising the erasure. Its quite handy to use, especially if your not sure when you last performed a data backup.

After tapping on Erase Now or Backup Then Erase, you will be prompted to enter your passcode. Once you have confirmed, the data will be erased, freeing you to sell/trade or give away your old iPhone.