Apple removed this command in macOS Sierra for the same reason they removed the Secure Empty Trash feature. The command line used to include the “srm” command that allowed you to securely delete files and folders. Today we’ll show several methods you can use. When you close them, they’re encrypted again.īut if you’re not comfortable using FileVault and you’re still using an older Mac with a regular HDD, you should use a secure method of deleting private and sensitive files. Files are decrypted on the fly as you open them.

You don’t need to securely delete individual files because FileVault encrypts everything on the drive. Whether you’re using a regular HDD or an SSD, a better way of making sure your data is secure is to encrypt your drive using FileVault. SSD Test” by Simon Wüllhorst is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Secure deletion on SSDs just doesn’t work. The old file is still on the SSD and could potentially be recovered.

SSDs move files around, so if you try to overwrite a file, you end up creating a new file in a new location instead of overwriting the contents of the old file. This means overwriting it with junk data prevents that file’s contents from ever being recovered. When you store a file on a regular spinning hard disk (an HDD), it occupies a physical location on the disk’s surface. However, Apple removed the secure erase features in OS X 10.11 El Capitan because new Macs contained SSDs by default. DoD pattern of overwriting data seven times.

You can use the standard method of erasing files (moving files to and then emptying the Trash) on SSDs.īeginning with Mac OS X 10.3, Apple introduced the Secure Empty Trash feature to increase security. Newer Macs now come with solid-state drives (SSDs), and you cannot securely erase files on an SSD. Older Macs came with regular hard disk drives (HDDs). Securely Erase Files on Solid State Drives (SSDs) vs. You don’t need to delete files on an SSD securely. The need to securely delete files on your hard drive depends on whether you’re using a regular hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD).

Mac disk utility secure erase ssd