Isha is a student in Mumbai. She has been using the same smartphone for more than two years. But one day while returning home from college, his phone fell and its screen got a few cracks. Isha then gave the device to a third-party service center for repair. However, just hours after getting the repaired phone back, her phone started buzzing – with calls from parents, friends and dozens of messages on social media – her personal information and private data had been leaked online.

Now, Isha is a fictional character, but the story is real. There have been cases where people have found that their personal photos and other data have been leaked online after giving in their phone for repair. But how does this happen? And what should you do to stay safe?

How can your data be accessed during repair?

When you give your phone for repair, authorized service centers of any brand ask you whether you have deleted the data on the device. If not, they will help you to backup all the data and then reset the phone.

However, some third-party centers, usually not affiliated with any brand, may ask for your device’s password or PIN. Now, when you ask them why they need this, you may get answers like “We need to test the device after repair” or “We can’t fix it if it’s locked.”

This is where the problem starts. Once you give them your password, they can freely access all the information on your smartphone – be it photos, banking details, emails or social media accounts.

After you return the device, nothing will seem normal again. Your smartphone is now fixed and everything is working smoothly. But after a few hours you get a call from an unknown number. The person starts demanding money from you, or says that he will leak your personal data. Or worse, the data has already been leaked, and there’s nothing you can do.

So, how to stay safe?

First of all, you should be aware that no service center should ask you for the password of your smartphone. And smartphones come with dedicated modes that ensure that when the device needs to be used by someone to check whether it’s working, your data remains safe – even if you don’t reset it.

Most smartphones nowadays come with a ‘repair’ or ‘maintenance’ mode. When you turn it on, the phone essentially creates a new phone within itself, keeping all your data safe. In this setting, anyone can use the device and ensure that all features work correctly, but they will never be able to access your data. And yes, as the name suggests, it is made especially for when you give your phone in for repair. To return to default mode. You just have to enter the phone password.

But not all phones may have a dedicated repair mode, especially older devices – so what then? There is still an option – Guest Mode. A guest mode also creates a secondary space on your phone and puts all your personal data aside. When you want to exit guest mode, the phone will ask you for a password or PIN. So in a way, it works the same way as Repair Mode, but this mode can also be useful if you’re handing it over to a friend or co-worker for emergency use.

If for any reason neither of the two options work on your smartphone, you can backup all your data and then reset the device before handing it over. Once the repair is complete, you can sign back in to the phone and download all your data again.