Is it safe to trade-in my iMac (from a privacy/security perspective)

[JeffL]

Here in the U.K. Apple will offer me £200 trade-in allowance against the purchase of a new iMac 24" at £1249. Therefore net cost to me £1049 which can also be spread over 24 moths with interest free credit if ordered before 29th July. The trade-in would be my 21.5" iMac Late 2012 model, 1TB, 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, 8GB Memory which is aesthetically in good condition but very slow. If I were to go ahead with the purchase I had always planned to destroy the old Mac or remove the hard drive, smash it up with a hammer, and try to sell the iMac without any hard drive on eBay to someone who might want it for spares or to install an SSD drive. Would it be safe to take that either of those routes if the old Mac were reset it to Factory settings? Reading the blurb on the Apple website (U.K.) it says 'We’ll give you a pre-paid trade-in kit or you can take it to an Apple Store'. I am not sure where the trade-in Mac goes when using the pre-paid route as It also mentions an Apple Trade-in Partner. So is it safe to trade in from a privacy and security angle?

 

[pigoo3]

I think we answered part of this in the other thread...but some additional questions here.

£200 (~$277US) is a relatively "healthy" trade-in amount (good for you)! I think Apple prices are higher in the UK...thus maybe trade-in values are higher too.

Apple in the US will give about $110 (~£80) trade-in for the same computer. On eBay US they're selling in the neighborhood of $250 (about 2x what Apple is offering).

As far as selling it. Yes some folks do remove the hard drive before selling it (if it's not too much of a hassle)...but doing this probably makes it less sellable...since not all potential buyers will want to deal with the hassle & cost of installing a new drive.

Using Disk Utility "Secure Erase" feature (if possible: see linked Apple document). This is where Disk Utility overwrites the whole disk with a bunch of 1's and 0's.

Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac

In Disk Utility on your Mac, erase and reformat a storage device to use with a Mac.

support.apple.com

HTH,

Nick

 

[JeffL]

Thanks Nick. It's not just Apple prices being higher in the UK than the US. We are known here as 'Rip-Off Britain' I don't know if it is related to the hourly rate of pay in the UK compared to the USA and other countries or related to Value Added Tax (VAT) at 20% (your equivalent is Sales Tax). We pay far higher prices for lots of items including motor vehicles. Many years ago I recall it being said that global car manufacturers used to refer to the UK as 'Treasure Island' as they could charge far higher prices in our country. Don't know why, go figure! If I've calculated it correctly, the price of the 24" Mac at £1249 would only cost me approximately £905 if I could buy it at US prices and if you in the US had to pay UK prices, you would be paying $1792. Anyway, I digress. Thanks for the Disc Utility erase article, I will have a look at that. It does sound like I'd be safe and secure running that procedure before trading-in at Apple and a trade-in is far less hassle than selling on eBay. No come backs with a trade-in.

 

[chscag]

A bit off topic.....

Prices are higher in the UK primarily because your government provides medical care and other benefits which are not available here in the US.

But not to worry..... we here in the US are headed that way.

 

[pigoo3]

It does sound like I'd be safe and secure running that procedure before trading-in at Apple and a trade-in is far less hassle than selling on eBay. No come backs with a trade-in.

Apple has some pretty good policies...I'm sure Apple is aware of the sensitivities owner's trading in computers have regarding privacy & security. Apple certainly isn't directly reselling trade-in computers to consumers. My guess is Apple either resells trade-in computers to 3rd party sellers...or donates them to worthy causes...and takes the loss as a write-off on annual taxes.

I would hope that Apple either has a really effective way to securely erase hard drive's & SSD's in these trade-in computers...or...removes the internal storage (in models where it's possible). Then replaces the storage with new storage...and destroy's/shreds the storage (HD's or SSD's).

Yes taking advantage of the Apple trade-in program does make disposing of an old computer easier...but as I mentioned in the other thread...sometimes this trade-in value can be much below market value.

I checked eBay UK...and overall...it looks like the £200 trade-in deal from Apple might be worth it. On eBay UK I saw some 2012 21" iMac's sell for less than £200...and some sold for more.

- Nick

 

[Randy B. Singer]

...Using Disk Utility "Secure Erase" feature (if possible: see linked Apple document). This is where Disk Utility overwrites the whole disk with a bunch of 1's and 0's...

Even since El Capitan, Secure Erase has no longer been a feature available in Disk Utility.

I've explained how to get around this in the other thread on this topic.

 

[JeffL]

Thanks Randy

 

[pigoo3]

Even since El Capitan, Secure Erase has no longer been a feature available in Disk Utility.

Not true.

If the Apple document I linked above is read carefully...it contains the following info:



If a "spinner" hard drive is connected (internally or externally)...then the "Secure Erase" feature in Disk Utility is definitely available.

Example: I have a 2017 MacBook Pro running Catalina (10.15) SSD internal storage...and when an external spinner HD is connected...the Secure Erase option is definitely there.

The reason why this is applicable in this situation. OP has a 2012 iMac with a 1TB internal spinner hard drive. Thus the Disk Utility "Secure Erase" option should be available.

The Disk Utility "Secure Erase" option is not available...if only an SSD is present.

Nick

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Not true.

If the Apple document I linked above is read carefully...it contains the following info:

View attachment 34221

If a "spinner" hard drive is connected (internally or externally)...then the "Secure Erase" feature in Disk Utility is definitely available.

Example: I have a 2017 MacBook Pro running Catalina (10.15) SSD internal storage...and when an external spinner HD is connected...the Secure Erase option is definitely there.

The reason why this is applicable in this situation. OP has a 2012 iMac with a 1TB internal spinner hard drive. Thus the Disk Utility "Secure Erase" option should be available.

The Disk Utility "Secure Erase" option is not available...if only an SSD is present.

Nick