Completely deleting data on iOS and Android devices requires first encrypting. Doing so makes it difficult to recover the data you have deleted. Support for encryption is available in iOS and Android, but not on Windows Phone.
This does not mean that your data on Windows Phone is not fully protected. But some people can be successful in recovering your personal data. Before we go about deleting personal data securely, we go through how to create a Windows Phone backup.
Save data like this on the cloud
1. Windows Phone lets you create online backups if you have an Internet connection. For this you will need a Microsoft account. If you’re already using a Windows Phone device, you may have created a Microsoft account when setting up the phone or downloading apps.
2. You will also need a OneDrive account to save photos and videos. You can go to onedrive.com or download the app to create an account.
3. To back up Settings, Internet Explorer Favorites and Installed Apps, first go to Settings. Then go to Backup, then select App List + Settings. After that keep the backup on. Tap on Back Up Now to start creating a backup right away.
4. To back up text messages, go to Settings. Select Backup, then Text Messages. Then turn on text message backup.
5. You can also keep your videos and photos backed up online. First go to Settings, then select Backup, and then in the Photos and Videos sub-heads, choose between Good quality and Best quality. Backups of photos over cellular internet will be of good quality, a WiFi connection will be required to make the best quality backups.
Save data like this on your computer
1. If you prefer to keep a backup on your computer, then you can copy-paste all the data manually. However, you won’t be able to save text messages or app data or settings this way.
2. Plug the phone into your computer. Go to My Computer option and there your device will appear as removable drive. You will see it under the name of Windows Phone. Open it and double-click on the phone. Then copy the photos, music, ringtones and videos from their folders and save them on the computer.
Do this to securely erase data
If you have locked your phone with a passcode, then it will not be possible for anyone who does not know the passcode to unblock the phone. If someone wants to access your data, they will have to reset the phone to factory settings, due to which your personal content will be deleted.
You can also manually delete your data by resetting the phone. Doing so deletes all the data on your phone. However, some people can still restore deleted files. Well, by taking some precautions, you can prevent this from happening.
1. Select Settings followed by About, then select Reset your phone. Start the process by tapping on Yes twice.
2. When this process is complete, connect your phone to the computer. Access it through My Computer. When you double-click on Windows Phone, you will be able to see the free space on your device through a blank drive named Phone.
3. Fill up your phone’s internal storage by copying large files of HD movies. It is like copying over the file on your PAN drive.
4. Once your phone’s internal storage is completely full, delete the copied file. Repeat this process two or three times. By doing this, you get protection from recovering deleted data from your phone.
5. If your phone has a microSD card, repeat points 3 and 4. When you double-click on Windows Phone, another drive named SD Card will appear.
How to recover your data
Here’s what you need to do to recover photos, app settings, and other files backed up to the cloud.
1. Boot up your new Windows Phone device or wiped device. Sign in with a Microsoft account.
2. Wait until the Microsoft account data is synchronized with your device.
3. During this you will be asked to restore your phone. A list of available backups will also appear. Choose the backup you want and tap on Next.
4. Enter the security code then tap Next.
5. Wait for the restoration to complete, then tap Next.
6. You will be asked for passwords for email and social accounts. Tap Skip (you can do this later), then tap Done.
7. To view your photos and videos, open the OneDrive app and sign in.
Transferring media files from your computer to your phone is also very easy:
1. Connect your phone to the computer via USB cable.
2. On your computer, go to My Computer, open the Windows Phone drive. After this, copy the saved media files on the computer and transfer them to the phone.
In this way, you can safely delete data from Windows Phone. Also let us know if you managed to delete data from your Windows Phone by following these instructions.