What a SIM card holds, and what it does not
| On the SIM card | Not on the SIM card |
|---|---|
| Your line’s identity: it is how your carrier knows it is you | Your photos and videos |
| Sometimes a few old contacts or texts saved to the SIM | Your iMessage, WhatsApp or RCS conversations |
| Your apps, passwords, accounts and banking apps |
eSIM: nothing to pull out
Some recent iPhones are eSIM-only: there is no card to take out. Transfer your eSIM to your new phone, or erase it with the phone when the iPhone offers to.
What really erases your data
- Sign out of your Apple ID, or your Google and Samsung accounts.
- Erase the phone with its built-in reset: the step by step for iPhone, Samsung and Pixel.
- Take out the SIM card and the memory card, and keep them.
Keep your SIM, and your number
Your SIM card belongs to your line: keep it for your next phone, or ask your carrier for a new one. Selling your phone to SubSell changes nothing on your plan or your number. And before any resale, every phone we buy goes through professional data-erasure software: how we erase your data.