I just bought an iPad Air from the Apple Education store. I did not buy AppleCare+ at purchase because the Education store only lets you buy the one-shot two-years-and-it's-over plan. I set it up by starting setup from my iPhone so I thought it would fully set itself up from the iPhone. As soon as things got far enough along that I could log into the iPad I purchased AppleCare+ via the iPad itself (the $40/yr until cancelled plan). It was only then that I realized it had decided to use the backup from my (old) iPad to restore from rather than using the iPhone's backup. This was not what I wanted and so I decided to erase and start from scratch. But when I went to "Erase All Content" it showed the AppleCare+ plan as one of the things that will "be safely removed"! So am I screwed? Does this mean I can't erase the iPad in order to start over without losing the plan? (And a secondary question -- how can I make it use the iPhone's backup instead? Or is there no way to do that?)

I am dealing with a company MacBook Pro model A2918 , M3 chip, made in 2023. The company terminated me, and I am trying to remove my personal data from it before returning it. However, the company locked me out of the machine and is refusing to let me back into it. They claimed they would wipe the machine when they receive it, but I don't entirely trust them and want to remove things on my end first. Currently when I open the laptop, I see "This Mac is Locked. The System PIN is required to use this Mac." They have another admin user account on Mac OS and have Kandji MDM software set up on the machine. Not sure if this screen is from Kandji or something else. I do have Find My set up on the device under my user account, and I do see the device when I log into iCloud on another machine, so could try to remote erase the device using Find My , but I'm not sure if that would be effective given the lock screen I am seeing. Personal data that I want to remove includes: 1. Emails saved locally using Apple Mail 2. Calendar events saved locally using Apple Calendar 3. Passwords synced locally using 1Password 6 4. Files synced locally in Google Drive for desktop 5. Logins to various services (including Google) in Firefox, Chrome, and Mac OS (for Apple Mail and Calendar) 6. iCloud account 7. Contacts 8. iMessage conversations I can remote log out from some of these things but am really looking for a single "erase" option at the OS level if possible. What are my options?

I have a file containing a private key that I want to securely delete. [Several](https://www.groovypost.com/howto/securely-delete-files-mac/) [sites](https://macpaw.com/how-to/secure-erase-files-on-macos) as well as Claude suggest using rm -P but the man page of rm says: This flag has no effect. There was also a suggestion about "Secure empty the trash" which is an option that has been removed. Is there a simple way to securely delete the file (preferrably from the command line)?

I saw on the Apple documents on their website ( Here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210650 ) that Macintosh HD is read-only volume called maybe "startup disk" for system files and user data goes to Macintosh HD - Data, But I can't find that volume in my macbook or in Filevault there is no option coming to turn FileVault On For "Macintosh HD - Data", it only says there "Filevault is turned on for the disk Macintosh HD" does it mean that the user data is still unencrypted!, and it was On already by default, I didn't turned it On. But I want to encrypt the user data wherever it is by FileVault in order to securely erase it from the Macbook in future whenever needed. Please tell me how to do it or where to find that volume or explain to me if the user data is also on the "Macintosh HD" only but in the Disk Utility there is an another Volume called only "Data" other than the "Macintosh HD" I am confused why is it not showing in the FileVault that means it is not encrypted and it is where the user data is going? can this happen that it is already encrypted and I can stop worrying or what?

My Question is I want to erase a file in OS X Securely (like the function of "Secure Empty Trash") so that, the file cannot be recovered by using recovery tools. I don't want to empty the trash. It is possible to erase Files Securely in OS X without moving the file to Trash ? [**Note**: *Use caution applying old tools or methods to new systems.*] Apple has deprecated all the tools (as well as secure empty trash) that used to overwrite files based on magnetic disk storage considerations. SSD don’t erase the underlying storage when the os deletes a file, so use encryption (which is now hardware accelerated and the default for all macOS systems).]

I have a bunch of apple hardware at work that is to be destroyed, because the security guys claim it can't be wiped to NIST PURGE compliance. All the PC hardware can achieve this level, and we have a specific piece of licenced software authorised to do this, and provide reports. The cleared PC kit gets donated onward to local charities, minimising waste and all that good stuff. If the macs get destroyed instead of reused, then there's no way for those users to experience a mac environment, and they get stuck with windows or maybe a linux distro. --------------- To be clear - the minimum requirement is "NIST Purge" compliance. I've managed to boot the authorised software on minis and achieved "NIST Clear" levels, which is insufficient. There's a halfway house of removing the M2 cards from mac minis and onward-donating the remains, but that's sub-optimal. And for many of the MBP and Air laptops, they are "un- upgradeable" suggesting the storage is soldered to the mainboard leaving destruction as the only option. What can I do to achieve PURGE status on mac hardware? --------- Specifically for me, the hardware is * a1347, 2014 mac mini (about 30 of these) * a1502, 2014 13" MBP * a1398, 2015 MBP retina * a1286, 2011 unibody 15" MBP * a1707, 2017 MBP * a1418, 2017 imac 21" Although ideally this question should have generic answers.

I am the "middleman" in an effort to collect old, unused Apple devices from seniors living in an aging-in-place community. My intention is to collect their devices, wipe them clean, then donate them to a local charity resettling Afghan refugees in the immediate area. Erasing HDDs I understand. Erasing SSDs is where I need guidance. I suspect all the donated computers will be 2016 or before and most will be laptops. I read that if I turn on FileVault, encrypt the SSD, boot into Recovery mode and erase the SSD, that will be the equivalent of securely erasing an HHD with one or two passes writing ones and zeros. Is this correct - I feel a very strong obligation to those donating old computers to get this right.

In Windows I know that when you delete a file or even format your PC, then some data can still be recovered from the hard disk using some tools. Now I have iPhone 11 and I am planning to sell it. So I backup my iPhone using iTunes. Then I went to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Data and settings. If resetting my iPhone and deleting all the data and apps will prevent someone from recovering my data? Or can other users still recover my data? If the answer is yes, then what is the best way to permanently delete all the iPhone data before selling it? in Windows I use a tool named fileshredder which will wipe all the free space. Any advice ? Thanks

Is it possible to completely wipe out iPhone data using dd tool? Something like this? sudo dd if=/dev/random of=/...

I just came across this thread about securely deleting files : > If, by stroke of misfortune, you're on a magnetic medium, have > journalling disabled and, for some reason, can't encrypt the disk, > you're options are: > > * Use rm -P which overwrites files with 0xff, then 0x00, and then 0xff again And this contradictory superuser thread . Apparently it's not easy to securely delete files using Apple's older HFS+/Journaled file system. **Without the use of third-party software, is it possible to natively wipe a file in a Mac that's using APFS (macOS Mojave and newer) and FileVault encryption?** I understand macOS makes it difficult with all of its journaling and backup functionalities. But I'm looking for a shred or srm type of solution that's built into macOS already.

I have an external SSD I would like to delete with ATA Secure Erase. I don't want to overwrite it with 0s or random bits. Can I do this with macOS (13.0.1) on my MacBook Air M1 or more generally on macOS overall? hdparm does not seem to exist for macOS, nor does Homebrew have it. A VM is not an option. The last time this question was asked and answered (How to securely erase an arbitrary SATA drive, utilizing the drive firmware to do so? ) is from 2015. Are there any options since then?

Let's assume I'm working/living in a potentially hostile environment and want to minimize the risk that somebody can access the data stored on my iPhone. The recommended way is to force-lock the phone to ensure that it can't be accessed without the password, but this doesn't fully protect against data extractions applied directly on the phone (nor to methods which would force the user to reveal the password). And going through the multi-step approach of resetting the phone via Settings is obviously not feasible under pressure. So I'm looking for ways to quickly factory reset (wipe all content) on an iPhone. Something like "press one icon, confirm with one button = reset iPhone to factory settings".. with no passwords, no PINs... just quick wipe. How can I accomplish this? PS: I'm aware that this may also lead to unexpected data loss in case the function is triggered by mistake. That's a risk I'm willing to take.

Does it trash the disk if I interrupt the secure erase option of Disk Utility? There's nothing on the disk to hide, so I don't want to waste time, but if I triggered it accidentally — blame the cat :-) — will that render the disk unusable?

According to the rm man page rm -P ... overwrites items three times to delete them securely: > -P            Overwrite regular files before deleting them. Files are >                 overwritten three times, first with the byte pattern 0xff, >                 then 0x00, and then 0xff again, before they are deleted. Is it possible to single pass secure delete items with rm ...? Notes: - I don't want to use srm ! I need rm only, please. - I use a MacBook with an HDD and macOS 10.13.

I am planning on provisining enterprise Macs using DEP/MDM and looking for a way to allow non-admin user to initiate wiping computer. Possible from command line using sudo? Perhaps there is another way?

I have a High Sierra (10.13.6) MacBook Pro that I purchased back in 2016. Man its been a great machine! Unfortunately I have beat the heck out of it and made so many systems level changes that its become unusable for me as a developer. I've mainly used it as a testing/experimental sandbox and so my XCode installation is all jacked up, git works in really strange, indecipherable ways, node and npm work very strangely. Maybe if I had **a lot** of spare time I could fix everything, but I don't, and so I'm looking to completely nuke the entire hard drive -- everything -- and install the latest OS version. To reiterate, I want **nothing** (at least in the user space, meaning any files I've created/downloaded) left on the machine. Blank canvas to work with. The goal is nuke the old OS + data, get a new OS and a blank slate to start over with. So I ask, what are the recommended practices, tools, steps for: - Deleting everything off the drive (ideally even the OS); and - Installing whatever is the latest stable version of the MacOS operating system Ideally -- of course -- it would be great if my purchase of this machine 6 years ago (to the tune of some $2500...) would allow me to get the OS upgrade for free. But if not, c'est la vie. Thanks for any and all help here!

I've just updated to macOS 10.12 and when I try to execute srm in Terminal, it says -bash: srm: command not found. Is srm removed? How to fix this?

Unfortunately, I had a cyber attack that took control of my browser, running background processes on my laptop. I have already Erased All Contents and Settings with these steps: 1. Open System Preferences 2. Click System Preferences in the menu bar > Erase All Contents and Settings Can it be enough? Or do I need a more intensive formatting? In this case what could I do and how. I have a MacBook Pro with T2 chip and Monterey.

I've tried to erase and factory reset my MacBook, using *Erase All Content and Settings in System Preferences*. However, after completing the operation, and configuring the MacBook again, I can find the previous accounts in Mail, passwords of the wifi and all the previous settings of the last configuration. Why does this happen? I don't have any backup on iCloud, I've checked many times. Anyway I choose to configure as a new MacBook. How can I be sure the MacBook has been formatted if I find all this information after Erasing All Content? I have a MacBook with T2 chip.

I bought an external SSD which is not working fine with my new Macbook Air running under Monterey. I wanted to erase the Disk securely before sending it back but I just noticed that it's not possible to choose the security option during the erase process. I also can't find the option "wipe free space". Is it safe to normally erase the disk and send it back? I tried to encrypt the disk, erase it. re-rencrypt it... But the disk is not working fine and I am not sure if the encryption is working.