Sold phone with Gmail account logged in

[chocochip9]

Hey guys, so I sold an android phone today but my Gmail account was setup with the phone. I (stupidly) forgot to sign out before selling it. I have changed the password but I read that gmail accounts stay signed in on android until deleting them from the phone.

Is there any other way to solve this other than deleting my Gmail account?

 

[Johnly]

You can sign out of all sessions. Hopefully with a password change you will be good as well.
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8154?hl=en

 

[chocochip9]

You can sign out of all sessions. Hopefully with a password change you will be good as well.
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8154?hl=en

I did that a few times earlier. I am just worried that my gmail will be vulnerable now, I have a second gmail though so deleting it wouldn't really be a problem. Maybe I am just being paranoid?

*edit
This is the page I read about having to delete the account from the phone.
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/2991620?hl=en

 

[Johnly]

I did that a few times earlier. I am just worried that my gmail will be vulnerable now, I have a second gmail though so deleting it wouldn't really be a problem. Maybe I am just being paranoid?

*edit
This is the page I read about having to delete the account from the phone.
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/2991620?hl=en

When I signed out of my Gmail and did so for all sessions, I was prompted for a password on another 4.0+ mobile device and could not use the account. I was able to look at my mail if I remember right. Signing out will not remove the gmail account. This is why having the option to remote wipe is very useful. For peace of mind, you could delete that account so you have no worries. In the future, have a way to secure the device remotely if possible.

 

[B. Diddy]

I thought that once you change your password, any device logged into that account will start giving errors when syncing, and prompt you to reenter your credentials. I don't think emails will be visible, except maybe for email previews on the widget. So that person shouldn't be able to access emails or anything else once the password is changed. But bear in mind that I haven't formally tested this.

 

[Johnly]

I thought that once you change your password, any device logged into that account will start giving errors when syncing, and prompt you to reenter your credentials. I don't think emails will be visible, except maybe for email previews on the widget. So that person shouldn't be able to access emails or anything else once the password is changed. But bear in mind that I haven't formally tested this.

It was the already synced emails that were on the device. You are correct that prompts for credentials and errors will happen. I remember that. It was some time ago, but being logged out from those sessions, still allowed me to view anything else I was logged into. It may have been that I was not able to read my Gmail, but I am not sure. I thought I was able to access the application, but that was a few months ago.

 

[chocochip9]

I thought that once you change your password, any device logged into that account will start giving errors when syncing, and prompt you to reenter your credentials. I don't think emails will be visible, except maybe for email previews on the widget. So that person shouldn't be able to access emails or anything else once the password is changed. But bear in mind that I haven't formally tested this.

It was the already synced emails that were on the device. You are correct that prompts for credentials and errors will happen. I remember that. It was some time ago, but being logged out from those sessions, still allowed me to view anything else I was logged into. It may have been that I was not able to read my Gmail, but I am not sure. I thought I was able to access the application, but that was a few months ago.

Thanks for the replies guys. To be honest, the only reason this is worrying me so much is because Nexus phones practically run off of your Google account. I am preparing to delete the email address or else I won't have that peace of mind like you said, even if the person did end up removing my account (but i will never know).

 

[anon(394005)]

Didn't see it mentioned, but next time I'd perform a master factory reset (not just sign out of Google account) before handing over the device.

 

[lions_lair]

What they said.

Sent from the lions_lair in, Galaxy S3 SPH-L710

 

[lions_lair]

What they said.^

Sent from the lions_lair in, Galaxy S3 SPH-L710

Sent from the lions_lair in, Galaxy S3 SPH-L710

 

[Ealevenish]

Hey guys, so I sold an android phone today but my Gmail account was setup with the phone. I (stupidly) forgot to sign out before selling it. I have changed the password but I read that gmail accounts stay signed in on android until deleting them from the phone.

Is there any other way to solve this other than deleting my Gmail account?

Sure. Install the free app 'AndroidLost' on that phone. Remotely. From another web connected device. Just goto the Play Store and log in with that old phone's associated Gmail ID and password. If the new owner hasn't yet reset that phone to factory settings that should work. When AndroidLost is installed you can go to AndroidLost.com and

Read SMS'es
Read the latest SMS'es from your phone and send them to your email.
Remote control alarm
Have you ever misplaced your phone which was put on silent mode? Now you may sound the alarm on your phone from your PC!
View on map
Find the location of your phone on a map. With AndroidLost you can find your phone with GPS precision. Even if the phone is indoor you will get a nearby location by network accuracy.
Send SMS'es from your PC
You can send SMS'es directly from your phone by typing them on AndroidLost. All replies will still go to your phone.
Lock the phone
You can lock and unlock the phone from the web. If you forget your pincode you can simply overwrite it or remove it from the web.
Wipe the phone
Don't want your personal messages in the hands of anyone else? With AndroidLost you may wipe the entire phone so all SMS'es, contact and google setup is removed.
Pop up messages on the phone
Send a message to the friendly guy who have found your phone so you may let him know where to give it back.
Forward your calls
You can send keys to the dialer of your phone. That way you can forward your calls from your mobile to a nearby phone.
No battery use
AndroidLost will not use any battery since it does not poll any server to find out if it is lost. It uses the latest technology from google to send messages to the phone.
No pre installation required
You didn't install AndroidLost on your phone? No problem! You can push the AndroidLost app to your phone from google play and initiate the connection to googles servers by sending an SMS with the message 'androidlost register' to your phone.
Read status
Detect how much battery is left, display IMEI, SIM card ID and much more.
SMS commands
You can set up a phonenumber which can control you phone, i.e. start the alarm by sending an SMS to your phone.
Erase SD card
Click a button and your SD card will be erased! Very useful if you have some naughty pictures on your sd card.
SIM card changed
When the SIM card is changed an email will be sent to the owner of the phone.
Hidden SMS
When the phone receives an SMS it plays a sound and displays an icon in the notification bar. But if it starts with androidlost it will not play any sound and not display any notification.
Call list
A list of incomming and outgoing calls will be sent to you.
Camera
AndroidLost can take pictures with the front facing camera in case the phone is stolen. Only for android 2.3.
Tablets
AndroidLost also works on tablets. The call functions will obviously fail if the tablet have no phone installed.
Text to speech
You can make your phone speak out load. Suppose you have lost it on a café then you can make the phone say: 'I am lost - please pick me up!'
Multiple phones on the same account
So you may control more that one phone from your account.
Browse content
You can browse the content on the phone directly from the webpage. So if you phone is stolen you can still download your holiday pictures or erase them remotely.

Take your pick.

If the new owner has already reset that phone to factory settings all that will obviously not work anymore. But your Gmail ID and password will then also not be associated with that device anymore. Which is what you wanted, right?
If the new owner has not yet reset that phone to factory settings and you, say, wipe it remotely, then he/she might not be so pleased, of course.

 

[dpham00]

Did you activate Android device manager as an administrator? If so, you can remote wipe.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk Pro

 

[dctokyo]

Word of advice, always wipe your phone before selling it

 

[Illustrator Joe]

Word of advice, always wipe your phone before selling it

This, don't just sign out. Factory Reset.

 

[Unicorn Rancher]

This, don't just sign out. Factory Reset.

It's the only way to be sure.

 

[ultravisitor]

Word of advice, always wipe your phone before selling it

Seriously. As soon as I'm done using a device, I wipe it.

 

[iN8ter]

I didn't think this scenario was possible in this day and age :-( Even before turning in a device to the carrier for an exchange or whatever, I always tell them that I'm signing out and Factory Resetting the device.

Always do that. Even if you change Daily Drivers and the other phone will be sitting in a drawer, factory reset it.

You never know when something may pop up missing, and you may not even notice in some cases.

Also end sessions to any services you may have logged into on the device. This includes services like Facebook, Google Services, and others that allow you to do that from their web interface.

TBH, if the person is paying you for the phone I doubt they were as malicious as to steal your junk. They probably factory reset the phone, anyways.

You could have just used Phone Locate (which is on by default and doesn't require Admin Priviledges) to see if the phone showed up on a map. If it didn't, then it was either off or they removed the account from the phone.

 

[purplerose22603]

Sure. Install the free app 'AndroidLost' on that phone. Remotely. From another web connected device. Just goto the Play Store and log in with that old phone's associated Gmail ID and password. If the new owner hasn't yet reset that phone to factory settings that should work. When AndroidLost is installed you can go to AndroidLost.com and

Read SMS'es
Read the latest SMS'es from your phone and send them to your email.
Remote control alarm
Have you ever misplaced your phone which was put on silent mode? Now you may sound the alarm on your phone from your PC!
View on map
Find the location of your phone on a map. With AndroidLost you can find your phone with GPS precision. Even if the phone is indoor you will get a nearby location by network accuracy.
Send SMS'es from your PC
You can send SMS'es directly from your phone by typing them on AndroidLost. All replies will still go to your phone.
Lock the phone
You can lock and unlock the phone from the web. If you forget your pincode you can simply overwrite it or remove it from the web.
Wipe the phone
Don't want your personal messages in the hands of anyone else? With AndroidLost you may wipe the entire phone so all SMS'es, contact and google setup is removed.
Pop up messages on the phone
Send a message to the friendly guy who have found your phone so you may let him know where to give it back.
Forward your calls
You can send keys to the dialer of your phone. That way you can forward your calls from your mobile to a nearby phone.
No battery use
AndroidLost will not use any battery since it does not poll any server to find out if it is lost. It uses the latest technology from google to send messages to the phone.
No pre installation required
You didn't install AndroidLost on your phone? No problem! You can push the AndroidLost app to your phone from google play and initiate the connection to googles servers by sending an SMS with the message 'androidlost register' to your phone.
Read status
Detect how much battery is left, display IMEI, SIM card ID and much more.
SMS commands
You can set up a phonenumber which can control you phone, i.e. start the alarm by sending an SMS to your phone.
Erase SD card
Click a button and your SD card will be erased! Very useful if you have some naughty pictures on your sd card.
SIM card changed
When the SIM card is changed an email will be sent to the owner of the phone.
Hidden SMS
When the phone receives an SMS it plays a sound and displays an icon in the notification bar. But if it starts with androidlost it will not play any sound and not display any notification.
Call list
A list of incomming and outgoing calls will be sent to you.
Camera
AndroidLost can take pictures with the front facing camera in case the phone is stolen. Only for android 2.3.
Tablets
AndroidLost also works on tablets. The call functions will obviously fail if the tablet have no phone installed.
Text to speech
You can make your phone speak out load. Suppose you have lost it on a café then you can make the phone say: 'I am lost - please pick me up!'
Multiple phones on the same account
So you may control more that one phone from your account.
Browse content
You can browse the content on the phone directly from the webpage. So if you phone is stolen you can still download your holiday pictures or erase them remotely.

Take your pick.

If the new owner has already reset that phone to factory settings all that will obviously not work anymore. But your Gmail ID and password will then also not be associated with that device anymore. Which is what you wanted, right?
If the new owner has not yet reset that phone to factory settings and you, say, wipe it remotely, then he/she might not be so pleased, of course.

What if the new owner factory resets the phone before removing the Google account? What can be done to fix it then?