Apkudo has partnered with CypherBlk to integrate its TimeShield™ platform, introducing the industry's first ADISA-certified solution for processing used Apple Watch and WearOS devices. This allows Apkudo customers to confidently enter the lucrative smartwatch resale market by automating workflows, ensuring secure data erasure, and increasing profitability through trusted diagnostics.
BALTIMORE – September 30, 2025 – Apkudo, the device passport platform company, today announced a strategic partnership with CypherBlk, the developer of TimeShield™, the industry's first and only ADISA-certified platform for secure smartwatch processing. CypherBlk joins the Powered by Apkudo ecosystem to integrate its groundbreaking technology, giving Apkudo customers a global, automated solution to manage the complexities of the secondary smartwatch market.
The secondary mobile market is rapidly expanding beyond smartphones, with the refurbished wearable market projected to reach USD 26.7 billion by 2032, according to Custom Market Insights. Yet despite this growth, companies processing used smartwatches face significant hurdles—from safeguarding sensitive data to mitigating fraud—without the benefit of standardized, trusted solutions. As a result, a massive total addressable market remains underdeveloped and difficult to access.
The integration of CypherBlk’s TimeShield platform directly addresses these challenges. It solves a critical security risk, where watches are sometimes resold with the previous owner’s cellular plan still active. The software also helps prevent fraud by spotting if an original battery has been replaced with a counterfeit and verifying other components' authenticity. This valuable information is automatically added to the Apkudo Device Passport™ for each device, creating a trusted and complete record.
Until now, smartwatches have been processed through inconsistent manual workflows, leading to unacceptable levels of data security risk, component fraud, and limited trade-in adoption that left significant value untapped. These gaps created a weak link in the refurbished device ecosystem. TimeShield closes that gap with the only end-to-end solution for Apple Watch and WearOS devices, combining deep asset intelligence, ADISA-certified data erasure, and automated diagnostics to deliver secure, consistent, and scalable processing.
“Joining the Powered by Apkudo ecosystem is a pivotal step in bringing our advanced smartwatch processing technology to the broader market,” said Andrew Kroeger, Co-Founder of CypherBlk. “The secondary wearable space is filled with guesswork, and operators are leaving significant value on the table. By integrating with the Apkudo Platform, we can help provide the trusted, transparent data needed to build a more efficient and profitable circular economy for these devices.”
“Our vision is to provide the foundational operating system for the entire connected device ecosystem, and this integration is a perfect example of that vision in action,” said Josh Matthews, CEO and Co-Founder of Apkudo. “Our customers need a comprehensive solution for all devices—not just phones. We are filling a critical market need by bringing CypherBlk’s best-in-class smartwatch processing into our platform.”
This partnership delivers immediate value for Apkudo customers by transforming how smartwatches are processed. Automated workflows reduce labor costs and eliminate bottlenecks, driving greater throughput and operational efficiency. Each device is backed by a consistent, ADISA-certified data sanitization, strengthening trust and transparency with downstream partners. With more accurate grading and pricing, businesses can capture higher resale margins while confidently expanding into smartwatch trade-in programs—unlocking a massive new supply channel and customer engagement opportunity that was previously underutilized.
Founded by industry veterans with deep expertise in enabling the circular economy, CypherBlk creates advanced solutions to address the most pressing challenges in the secondary device market. Its end-to-end platforms integrate certified secure erasure, advanced diagnostics, deep asset intelligence, and automated workflows into one seamless process—anchored by the flagship product, TimeShield. With its pioneering approach, CypherBlk is developing new layers of trust for the secondary market in wearables and connected devices.
With the addition of TimeShield, the Powered by Apkudo ecosystem now delivers the industry’s only comprehensive, certified solution for smartwatches, ensuring that this rapidly growing category can be managed with the same rigor and profitability as smartphones. To learn more about TimeShield, email info@cypherblk.com.
Founded by industry veterans with deep expertise in enabling the circular economy, CypherBlk creates advanced solutions to address the most pressing challenges in the secondary device market. Its end-to-end platforms integrate certified secure erasure, advanced diagnostics, deep asset intelligence, and automated workflows into one seamless process—anchored by the flagship product, TimeShield. With its pioneering approach, CypherBlk is developing new layers of trust for the secondary market in wearables and connected devices.
Guesswork has defined the device lifecycle for too long, costing billions in lost value and broken trust. Apkudo changes that and delivers the new standard for the modern device ecosystem. Our device passport platform captures and aggregates data from all disconnected device programs and transactions, creating a single, trusted Device Passport™ for every asset. This single source of device truth provides the clarity you need to make smarter decisions, operate with absolute confidence, and maximize the financial potential of every device. We turn fragmented data into the trusted record customers need to become passport-ready.
Kristen Barry
SVP Marketing and Communications
