Is the previous owner's data wiped, and to what standard?

Yes. As part of refurbishment, every laptop's storage is securely wiped and the operating system is freshly reinstalled before resale, so none of the previous owner's data or files remain. A clean, secure wipe is core to legitimate refurbishment, both for your security and the previous owner's. This is another reason to buy certified rather than from an informal seller, who may simply "delete" files (recoverable) or hand over a drive that was never properly sanitised. Two related points: the device also ships free of the previous owner's accounts and locks (no BIOS password, no activation lock), and you should in turn wipe your own data if you ever return the unit. At Edify, secure data wiping and a fresh OS install are standard on every unit, so you receive a clean, ready-to-use machine with freshly installed software and none of someone else's data.