Q: El Capitan deleted the choice to securely empty trash.

It was eliminated as it can't be used for SSDs anyway which is what many Mac models now come with.

I've never used it unless I was selling a machine as the space will be overwritten with my own new data, so I always thought it superfluous.

There is a way to disable the new SIP (system integrity protection) feature in the terminal - you can do a search here. If you do so, you will be disabling the built in safety net.

It was not eliminated. It is still usable via the Terminal. As far as I'm aware Apple hasn't said anything publicly about its removal from the GUI. The ability to create RAIDs was also removed from Disk Utility, but not via the Terminal.

You can securely erase an SSD. However, it is not advisable to do that very often because it can reduce the expected life of an SSD. I'm not sure where people get the idea that you can't securely erase an SSD. This is some of the same misinformation as the use of TRIM on an SSD.

As for the SIP it can only be toggled via the Terminal by booting first to the Recovery HD.

Not everyone wants to dabble in the terminal, so I'd consider it eliminated for the average user. As for me, I choose not to disable SIP.

And,  this is part of the info I based my opinion on about SSDs:

http://www.lifehacker.co.in/technology/How-to-Securely-Erase-a-Solid-State-Drive -on-Mac-OS-X/articleshow/35527372.cms

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5521

That may be true, but since one can it isn't quite correct to say "it was eliminated." Only it's implementation in the GUI was eliminated.

As for securely erasing SSDs I don't quite see the point of citing an article that tells you how. As it stands you can securely erase an SSD but it's advisable not to if you wish to maintain the life of your SSD. The article cited from Apple Discussions is from ds Store whose expertise is often questionable. And, that is an old article from 2013. It certainly isn't from Apple any more than the article from Life Hacker. But I would be more likely to trust an article from Life Hacker than anything from ds Store. That is my opinion, though.

If you want to go to third-party expertise about SSDs you should look at some articles written by OWC who can be acknowledged as experts in this area.

The reasoning that Apple, Inc. gives for removing the “Secure Empty Trash” button in its El Capitan OS update is:

Description: An issue existed in guaranteeing secure deletion of Trash files on some systems, such as those with flash storage. This issue was addressed by removing the "Secure Empty Trash" option.

CVE-ID

CVE-2015-5901 : Apple

Reference:: About the security content of OS X El Capitan - Apple Support

That’s like Ford saying, “We could not guarantee that seatbelts would work properly in the Fusion, so we removed seatbelts from all of our vehicles.”

In my opinion, a better solution would have been for Apple to write a code that adds the “Secure Empty Trash” feature, but also includes a friendly pop-up reminder that appears whenever flash storage devices are erased (emptied from the trash). Such a notice might say:

Due to their design, Flash Storage Devices do not qualify for “Secure Deletion.”

Personally, I would prefer to have some secure file deletion, especially on my Mac hard drive, as opposed to none.

Recently, I purchased a popular, commercially available 'shredder program' that states it 'securely deletes' files. To my dismay (after purchase), I found a review written about a year ago that completely pans the product.  Review doesn't state which device, only the previous edition of the program running with Mac 10.5.  The review stated that everything was recoverable?  Sadly, this is the only review I can find for this program - wondering if I wasted my $25 and change?  Can I state the name of the author/vendor and product?

After reading the vendor's extensive notes - recommendations regarding their secure shredder product I've taken the time to correctly configure their program and will go from there.  I really didn't want to dabble in Terminal but I'm glad that option is available.  Much information is available regarding 'Secure - Delete' and SSDs.