Erase your personal data from your cell phone

These days, thousands of cell phones are thrown out every day. Just because you take out that memory card, or SIM card, out of your cell phone - it still contains lots of personal information. But you need to get rid of that data before you discard that phone. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average cell phone is used only 18 months. If you multiply that by about 200 million cell phone users in the U.S. alone, that's a lot of discarded phones. But there are ways you can erase all of the personal data on your phone.

A good place to start is on the internet. There are several websites that have downloadable cell phone eraser data. The websites give you instructions and guide you through the removal of every last piece of information. The process is different for different manufacturers. Once you find yours, you'll have to enter specific codes or even push a reset button.

One more tip: If you send your phone in for repairs and get a refurbished version, make sure it's memory is blank before you start entering your own information.

If there is other information on the phone, you'll want to delete that before entering your own information.