OLATHE, Kan. — Hannah Cliche has been a Sprint customer for three years. She just upgraded to an iPhone X about two and a half weeks ago and said her experience with the transfer process left her feeling like her privacy was compromised.
On Nov. 3, Cliche went to the Sprint store in Olathe, located at Black Bob and Santa Fe.
She was getting her data transferred and asked for the manager to clear her old phone before she left with the newer model.
She said the manager went into settings and started the process of clearing her phone while she was there, and then told her it was done.
A few hours later, her phone had not updated, so she came back to that location. She said she found her old phone – and it had not been cleared.
"He came back with my phone and there were 15 to 20 apps open that I hadn't used," said Cliche, who said she habitually closes her applications.
Facebook Messenger, text messages and pictures were all open, even apps she said she had not used in weeks.
"I don't want to be with Sprint anymore," said Cliche, who previously had always had good coverage and customer service with the cell phone provider.
The day after it happened she alerted Sprint Care of the problem. Two and a half weeks later, she is still looking for resolution.
41 Action News reached out to Sprint and they said they are still looking into Cliche's claims and that they have a team actively engaged to find out what happened.
Representatives also said finding that resolution for their customer was the first priority.
Sprint's official statement:
"We learned about this issue earlier today and immediately began looking into the matter to determine what happened. We are still reviewing the details and will share more as we have them. At Sprint we take the privacy and protection of our customers’ information very seriously.
Every Sprint employee certifies that they comply with our customer privacy procedures. As a matter of policy, our teams do not review a customer’s personal information on the device without customer permission. We strive to transfer all requested customer data to their new device, but err on side of caution and retain the existing device for a very limited period of time to ensure the transfer was completed because once the device is wiped, information can no longer be retrieved. If we determine that an employee violated our policies, we will take the appropriate action." - John Votava, Public Relations & Community Affairs - West Area.
With many iPhones being purchased before the holidays, 41 Action News stopped by Mobile Revive for some quick steps on how to clear your phone.
The manager there said they prefer to have the customer watch as they wipe their phone.
To protect your information, Jamie Enriquez, a manager at Mobile Revive, said to find your name and clear your password from there.
Enriquez also advised you log out of Find My iPhone.
Go to Settings > General > Reset and then select Erase All Content and Settings. After typing in your passcode if you've set one, you'll get a warning box appear, with the option to Erase iPhone in red. Tap this.
The process takes 5 to 10 minutes but can solidify the peace of mind Cliche is craving.
"You need a resolution," said Cliche.
