If you have an older phone, look in your settings for the option to encrypt and set up a password/PIN as required (after the reset, the key file is deleted, so it can not see decrypted again). Current phones are encrypted out of the box, so no worry there.
To reset, log out of all Google accounts that may be on the phone. This is especially important if you are selling the phone and should be in your settings menu. When that's done, you may see an option to factory reset elsewhere in the menus. If not, you'll need to power down the phone and boot into recovery. The process of booting into recovery is slightly different on every phone, but is usually pressing and holding a combination of the volume buttons and the power button. You'll have to let us know which phone to know the exact combination if going that route.
If you do not sign out of your Google account(s) before resetting, you'll encounter factory reset protection. This is a security check when you set up the phone again, and you have to enter the Google email and password of the account that was last logged onto the phone to prove you are the owner.
12-14-2018 03:43 PM
