Old device disposal

zzz

I have an old Pixel 3 running stock OS.

I've done a factory reset, which for my low-ish threat model (normal consumer just trying to live a private lifestyle away from surveillance corps / data brokers) is enough the wipe lingering sensitive data. (I guess?)

I have no use for it as an mp3 player or "offline device" to keep around.

How do I dispose of it in a responsible way, environmentally and privacy/security-wise?

Take a hammer to it, then sweep it into a dumpster? Somehow it feels wrong. (Those heavy metals in the components will likely leech into the soil somewhere eventually, and that poisoned land will be denied to future generations, etc A distant externality, but a real one IMO.)

Send it to an e-waste collection bin?
Somehow it feels insecure or risky, like scavengers of the waste stream could go through and pull sensitive data from it.

Is there a 3rd way which can satisfy both of my hangups about old device disposal?

Thanks all~

[deleted]

zzz

Unlocking the bootloader should wipe it.

Eagle_Owl

zzz
Since the memory in smartphones is encrypted by default, deleting the key is actually sufficient for secure deletion.
Then all that remains is a jumble of data that nobody can decrypt.

So factory reset or unlocking bootloader would be secure enough, assuming you had previously used a good password as a screen lock.
However, if you have been using your Pixel Phone without a password or only with a four-digit PIN, then this is not enough.
Then the memory content would not be encrypted at all or very poorly encrypted.

But then the solution would probably be to give the Pixel a secure password now (no display swipe or 4-digit PIN, that's no protection!).
Then maybe leave it for a few days so that Android encrypts the entire memory with your new password (can take days, at least that's how it used to be before memory encryption became standard).
And finally factory reset or unlocking bootloader so that this new key is destroyed.

bookreader

Pry it apart, locate the eMMC and pry that off the mainboard. Dispose of eMMC in a fire, give the rest to e-waste recycler.

Or if you don't like the fire part, smash the eMMC with a hammer and pass that along with the rest to the e-waste recycler.

If you're ok with leaving the paranoia behind though, the factory reset is a very secure way to protect what data you had on it.