23% of New Yorkers Accidentally Share Intimate Content

New York, it’s time for a reality check—especially if you’ve ever recycled an old phone, tablet, or computer without getting rid of your data first. Apparently, nearly 85,000 of us accidentally hand over our private content when we send our devices off for e-waste recycling. We're talking intimate content that could end up in the wrong hands..

23% of New Yorkers Are Not Wiping Their Devices Before Recycling

A recent study found that 23% of New Yorkers don’t wipe their data before throwing their old devices into the recycling bin. That’s 84,948 people in the state getting rid of their personal content when they recycle their gadgets.

If you skip the data wipe, your old device could be sold to someone else—and they could get access to everything on it, including photos and videos you don’t want anyone else seeing.

Why Are We Doing This? Spoiler: We’re Mostly Forgetting

The study didn’t just look at the Empire State. Nationally, about 26% of people admit to not wiping their data before recycling it, that means millions of people are in the same boat. So why are we all doing this?

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37% of people just forget too. 22% assume the recycling center will wipe the data for them (they won’t), and another 21% didn’t even know how to do it. If you’re one of these people, I feel ya because that would be me.

Who’s the Worst? Sorry, Minnesota

Minnesota takes the crown for the worst state, with 46% of people there not clearing their devices before recycling. That means around 48,000 people from the Gopher State could be unknowingly sending their intimate content into the world. Maybe it’s time to remind everyone in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to hit that "erase everything" button.

The Right Way: What People Actually Do to Protect Their Data

What should a New Yorker do if they don’t want their private stuff floating around out there? Over half of people surveyed (54%) said they would delete any data they found on a stranger’s old device and recycle it properly. That’s good to know.

11% admitted they might be tempted to snoop out of curiosity. Uh oh!  So, what should you do to be safe? You cold invest in a secure data-wiping service before you recycle your devices. Some people are for that (39%), while others, are not so sure (36%).