Why selling smartphones or buying second hand may jeopardise your key data

When you sell or exchange your smartphones even after pressing factory reset does not erase your crucial data and those can be easily recovered, says Stellar co-founder Director Manoj Dhingra

At a time when phishing and hacking of banking data are showing a sharp rise, retrieving your banking details from your discarded and sold smartphones is a child's play with data recovery software.

"When you sell or exchange your smartphones even after pressing factory reset does not erase your crucial data and those can be easily recovered unless it is done permanently by specialised software," software product and service company Stellar co-founder Director Manoj Dhingra said here on Tuesday.

Nowdays, people have crucial personal and bank data due to phone banking and use various Apps and so it is very essential to erase the data permanently with data erasure solutions, Dhingra said which has recently launched 'BitRaser' a data erasure software for the purpose.

The company has both erasure solution for android and iphones and customers currently will be required to visit a mobile phone centre to get your phone cleaned, Stellar VP international business, Sudhanshu Puri said.

"We'll sell multiple use softwares to mobile stores and service centres. We'll touch 19,100 pin codes across the country via channels partners for easy access by customers," he said.

There is a lack of awareness about the data deletion and even data recovery. In Kolkata, refurbished phone accounts for 30 per cent of total smart phone in use, Stellar officials said.

The company was aiming at healthy growth in the years to come with a positive impact of Data Protection Bill and e-waste norms.

The company with the development centre is aiming at a 25 per cent rise in revenue in the current fiscal.

It had a revenue of Rs 550 million in 2017-18 from sale of data recovery software and erasure products and services.