Reader Al has lost his phone and is nervous about the data it still contains. He used the CONTACT link to ask for help:
“My S9+ is powered off as well as being lost. Can a factory reset be made to happen the next time the device powers up?”
The S9’s built-in software will indeed let you remotely data-wipe the phone when it’s back online; but you (the authorized user) have to manually trigger the wipe.
In fact, most current smartphones have a built-in way to help you locate them if they’re lost or stolen; and to perform a remote data-wipe, if necessary. Some implementations and third-party add-ons go even further, such as taking and emailing you a gps-tagged selfie of whomever is trying to unlock your phone; playing a loud siren sound to scare the thief; and so on.
The specifics for a remote data-wipe and options vary by brand and model, but Samsung gives general instruction for its current phones here:
Erase Data Remotely:
Don’t let that phone thief access your private data. You can wipe it clean from a computer…. Navigate to https://findmymobile.samsung.com and log into your Samsung account. Select Erase data, review the information, and then select ERASE. Enter your Samsung account password. If your phone is powered on and connected to a network, all of its data will be wiped, including the data on your SD card. Note: If a Google account is registered on your phone, you will need to sign into the account before you can use the phone again.
For other/older phones, visit the manufacturer’s support site; or do a general search using the manufacturer, phone model, and the words remote data wipe erase. (Example: samsung galaxy 5 remote data wipe erase
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