Recently I swapped out my defunct iPhone for a refurbished iPhone 6. The new phone came complete with dozens of voicemails to the previous owner. It didn't matter that I had first reset it and then restored it with the data backup from my previous phone. I assume she did not erase her phone content when she was done with it. Neither did Apple. Shame on them too.
From these voicemails I know this previous owner's name, and many personal facts about her, including
Her birthday, thanks to the tender rendition of "Happy Birthday" her mother left her that day.
What town she lives in.
That she has young kids, and one of their names.
Her friends' names--Judy, Martha, Mary, Sally, Fran (also here changed).
When and where she likes meeting her friends for drinks.
That her brother cares about her.
The phone numbers of all the above.
What kind of car she drives, and that it needed work in June.
That her mother was trying to reach her pretty urgently in May.
The week in January she took her last vacation, that she likes running, her job, and so on....
I'm purging it all now, but thought I'd pass this on. It's crazy out there. Our phones contain our worlds. It's worth not leaving that world behind when we get rid of our phones.