The federal privacy watchdog has found Staples Canada did not fully remove personal information from returned laptops that it later resold.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says its staff recently analyzed laptops returned by customers to four Ontario Staples stores and found 23 per cent of the devices had personal information, including names, email addresses, account information, email fragments and partial images of faces.

The privacy commissioner gave Staples nine months to develop clear standards for wiping devices, improve staff training and hire an independent third party to conduct an annual spot check on returned devices.

The commissioner started looking into the retailer’s data policies after a former Staples sales associate alleged laptops were not always wiped following their return.