It's the most common question we get, and the honest answer depends on the device.
Windows laptops and desktops
Windows offers "Reset this PC". Choosing Keep my files obviously keeps your data. Choosing Remove everything without the clean-drive option is quick, but much of the data stays on the drive and can be recovered. The clean-drive option overwrites the drive, which is far better, but it doesn't verify the result or produce a record, and on an older hard drive it can take hours.
Macs
Recent Macs with Apple silicon or a T2 chip encrypt their storage. "Erase All Content and Settings" destroys the encryption key, which is an effective erase. Older Intel Macs without a T2 chip need the drive properly erased instead.
Phones and tablets
Modern iPhones, iPads and Android devices are encrypted by default, so a full factory reset makes the old data unreadable. The usual problems are practical: a memory card left inside, an account still signed in, or a reset that wasn't completed.
What a reset doesn't cover
- External drives, USB sticks and memory cards
- Drives in machines that no longer boot
- Old desktops with spinning hard drives and no encryption
- Copiers and printers with internal storage
The real gap: proof
For a business, the question isn't only "is the data gone?" but "can we show it's gone?" UK GDPR's accountability principle expects you to be able to demonstrate how you protected personal data. A reset leaves no record of which device, which method, or whether it worked. A certificate per drive does.
So, is a reset enough?
For a modern, encrypted phone you're keeping in the business, a careful reset is usually fine. For anything leaving the business, especially laptops and drives that held client or patient data, wipe it properly and keep a record.
TrustWipe wipes, verifies and certifies every drive on your premises. See how laptop wiping works.