Prepare your device

Every device we receive gets fully wiped to NIST 800-88 standards before it's placed with anyone. You don't have to do anything beforehand. But if you'd like to start the process yourself for peace of mind, here's how.

Windows laptops and desktops

1. Back up anything you want to keep (photos, documents, browser bookmarks).
2. Sign out of browsers and apps you use. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox all have a sign-out option in account settings.
3. Go to Settings → System → Recovery (Windows 11) or Settings → Update & Security → Recovery (Windows 10).
4. Under Reset this PC, click Reset PC.
5. Choose Remove everything, and when prompted, choose Clean data (this takes longer but is more thorough).
6. Let it run. It may take an hour or more. When it finishes, shut the machine down.

Mac laptops and desktops

1. Back up anything you want to keep.
2. Sign out of iCloud: System Settings → Apple ID → Sign Out (or System Preferences → Apple ID on older macOS).
3. Sign out of iMessage, iTunes/Music, and any other Apple services.
4. Open System Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Erase All Content and Settings (macOS Monterey or later). For older Macs, restart holding Command-R and use Disk Utility to erase, then reinstall macOS.
5. Follow the prompts. The Mac will restart with a fresh setup screen. Shut it down.

iPhones and iPads

1. Back up to iCloud or your computer if you want the data.
2. Settings → [your name] → Sign Out to remove your Apple ID.
3. Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings.
4. Confirm. The device will erase and restart.

Android phones and tablets

1. Back up anything you want.
2. Settings → Accounts and remove your Google account (and any others).
3. Settings → System → Reset options → Erase all data (factory reset). Menu names vary slightly by manufacturer.
4. Confirm and let it run.

What if the device won't turn on or is too old to reset?

Don't worry about it. Bring it to us as-is. We have tools for wiping drives directly or physically destroying them when drives can't be accessed through software. This is exactly the kind of situation NIST 800-88 procedures are designed to handle.

What about the drive itself?

Some donors prefer to pull the hard drive or SSD and keep it (or destroy it). We don't recommend this for most people. A laptop without its drive is significantly harder to refurbish, and the security benefit over a proper NIST 800-88 wipe is minimal for personal data. If you're handling sensitive business or client data and your organization has a specific destruction requirement, get in touch and we'll work out the right approach.