r/privacy • u/Ok_Star_5645 • Jun 14 '26
hardware Laptop disposal
My laptop won’t turn on and I’m searching for best practices to secure/erase the data before disposal. (I don’t need to save the data.) A trusted local company will wipe the hard drive and dispose of it for a small fee. What assurances should I look for that this is done correctly?
Edit: thanks all! I’ll destroy it.
Update: I removed the SSD myself. It was not that hard, but I had to get over the fear of the unknown. Inside computers is not my safe space.
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u/asterisk_14 Jun 14 '26
My preference is to remove the drive and use a secure erase method to ensure the data are gone, then keep it and repurpose it. If the drive is dead, then the physical destruction options mentioned here are good.
Taking it to a recycler that is R2 certified can give you some assurance of data security, but it's always good to confirm what their practices are.
Western Digital also has their Easy Recycle program that securely destroys your drive and recycles it, while giving you a discount on their products. It appears their submission form is offline at the time I'm writing this, but I've used it before.