CleanSlate App Blog

Erase Before You Sell: The 10-Step Checklist for Leaving an Old Phone Behind

A practical pre-sale erasure checklist: sign out of accounts, remove eSIMs, revoke trust, and verify nothing recoverable survives before trading in, selling, or gifting a phone.

From Parts to Phishing: What Thieves Actually Do With Stolen Phones

Stolen phones do not just vanish. See the black-market paths — parts harvesting, gray-market resale, account phishing, and laundering — and where a remote wipe breaks the chain.

Back-to-School Device Security: A Campus Safety Checklist for Students

Dorms, lecture halls and campus coffee shops are theft hotspots. A checklist for students to harden a phone before move-in and respond quickly if it disappears mid-semester.

The First 90 Minutes After Your Phone Is Stolen: A Prioritized Action Plan

A minute-by-minute plan: lock accounts, trigger the wipe, change essential passwords, and notify the right parties before your data becomes a bargaining chip.

Airports, Border Checkpoints, and Hotel Wi-Fi: Traveling With Data on Your Phone

Travel changes what your phone risks. Prepare offline copies, trim sensitive apps, and keep a wipe trigger ready across borders and unfamiliar networks.

Why a Factory Reset Leaves Data Behind — and What Actually Destroys It

A factory reset is not the same as data destruction. Understand what can survive on a resold device, the role of encryption, and what a stronger wipe requires.

Securing Phones for Older Relatives: Setting Up Devices You Can Wipe From Anywhere

Caregivers can shield elderly and tech-shy relatives from scams and theft. A setup guide for installing protection, storing credentials, and wiping someone else's device for them.

Phone Insurance vs. Data Protection: Two Different Problems, One Backup Plan

Insurance covers replacement cost — it does nothing for the data already in a thief's hands. See how the two coverages fit together without overlapping.

Ten Quiet Signs Your Phone Has Already Been Compromised

The subtle warning signs of tampering — battery drains, odd permissions, mystery notifications — and the sequence of checks that confirm or clear the device.

The 15-Minute Monthly Phone Security Checkup That Prevents Theft Damage

A recurring routine: review permissions, rotate risky tokens, verify your wipe channel still works, and re-check the settings that erode quietly over time.