Back Up & Protect Personal Information to
Cloud Storage 

Protect Your Personal Information with Cloud Storage Before Selling Your Device  

Still hanging on to that old phone because it's filled with photos? Worried you'll lose all of your contacts? If you're considering selling a phone you're not using anymore but don't want to lose media, emails, text messages, or any other personal information, backing your phone up to cloud storage is much easier - and faster - than you think. 

Follow these simple steps and you’ll have all your memories safely stored in the cloud – plus cash in hand the very same day when you sell your old phone at any of our thousands of convenient ecoATM kiosks!

Start your safe and secure device trade-in today. 

Get a no-commitment price estimate for your device within minutes. If you like what you see and decide to sell, simply back up your device, perform a quick reset and bring both the used device and your generated drop-off code to any of our kiosks across the country.

Price Your Device

What You Should Back Up to Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is a convenient solution to easily removing and storing your personal data from your old devices. "Personal data" sounds like it could be anything, but for your old device, this is directly referring to: 

  • Photos and videos
  • Text messages
  • Contact info
  • App data
  • Voice memos
  • Home and health data
  • Passwords and payment methods
  • Files and documents

By backing up your device using your phone's settings, this personal information can be kept safely in cloud storage and then erased from your device with a factory reset. 

How to Back Up Your Phone to Cloud Storage and Wipe Your Data For Reselling

Backing up your phone to a cloud service is not only simple, but also crucial to keep your personal information safe*. Here are the quick and simple back up methods for your iPhone, Google phone, or Android phone. 

How to Back Up Your iPhone to iCloud 

Backing up your iPhone up to iCloud is very user-friendly and only takes a few minutes! You can choose to either back up your iPhone manually or set up automatic backups. 

Manually Back Up Your iPhone to iCloud

  1. Make sure your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi.
  2. Go to the Settings app > tap on your name > tap iCloud.
  3. Tap on iCloud Back Up.
  4. Tap on Back Up Now. Make sure that your Wi-Fi connection is stable while the backup process is completed.
  5. On this same screen, you'll be able to see the date of your last back up and any alert that you may need to purchase more iCloud storage.

Automatically Back Up Your iPhone to iCloud 

  1. Following the same initial steps as the above, navigate through your Settings app to iCloud.
  2. Tap iCloud Back Up, then toggle "Back Up This iPhone" to On.
  3. Make sure your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi and connected to a power source. Your automatic backups should commence in the background when the iPhone is locked and charging.

How to Wipe your Personal Data from Your iPhone 

Once the iCloud backup is completed, you're ready to wipe all personal information off of your device to prepare for selling. REMEMBER: it is very important to ensure that the sync to iCloud is complete before you delete your data! 

  1. Go to your Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
  2. From here, select Erase All Contents and Settings.

How to Back Up Your Samsung Phone to Samsung Cloud 

  1. Go to Settings, then tap on "Accounts and backup".
  2. Under Samsung Cloud, tap on "Back up data".
  3. You'll be presented with a list of items to back up. Select what you'd like to have saved, then tap "Back up now".
  4. The backup process will start and may take some time depending on how much data you're backing up to Samsung Cloud. Once you're finished, tap Done.

How to Wipe your Personal Data from Your Samsung Phone

It's crucial to make sure that your Samsung Cloud backup is fully completed before your wipe your device clean of any personal data. Once the backup is complete, follow these steps: 

  1. Go to Settings, then tap on General management.
  2. Tap on Reset, then select Factory Reset.
  3. You'll be prompted with details on the reset. When you're ready, tap Reset.
  4. Select Delete All to wipe all data from your Samsung phone.

How to Back Up Your Google Phone to Google Drive

If you're a Google Pixel owner, you can back up your Pixel in a few quick steps. 

  1. Make sure that your Pixel is connected to stable Wi-Fi.
  2. Open your Settings app.
  3. Scroll down and tap on Systems > tap Backup.
  4. Toggle the backup option Back Up to Google Drive to On.
  5. Select your back up account, or preferred Google account, that your data will be backed up to.
  6. Beneath Backup Content, select the items you'd like to backup.
  7. Tap Backup now.

Google Pixels are automatically set to back up your information, but you may complete the above manual process for extra peace of mind. 

Selling Your Phone with ecoATM 

Once you've backed up your personal data and removed it from your device, you're ready to sell your device for instant cash! 

With over 5,000 locations across the country, ecoATM is a convenient and secure option for your used devices. Simply price your device ahead of time to generate a drop-off code and bring it with your device to any ecoATM kiosk. 

Frequently Asked Questions

*The data wipe instructions and best practices described here are provided for informational purposes only. ecoATM makes no representations or warranties about the effectiveness of taking these steps. ecoATM & Gazelle are not affiliated with the device manufacturers referenced.