Can I securely wipe the flash memory in the iPhone?

Question

Level 1

15 points

Can I securely wipe the flash memory in the iPhone?

Hello:

Is there any way to SECURELY wipe the free space on the iPhone (ala DOD Wipe or Gutmann). Perhaps through an app or something. I have a program on my laptop that would do it but Windows 7 will not recognize the phone as a drive, only as an attached device.

Thanks,

Ed

DELL, Windows 7

Posted on Mar 27, 2011 8:50 PM

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Answer 1

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,401 points

Mar 30, 2011 3:38 PM in response to Ed Janison

The iphone does NOT support disk mode and does NOT behave as a flash drive when connected to your computer.

You would have to use the erase all content and settings feature on the iphone. This is covered in the manual -page 201:

"Erase all content and settings: Connect iPhone to your computer or a power adapter. Choose General > Reset and tap “Erase All Content and Settings.”
This resets all settings, and erases all your information and media by removing the encryption key to the data (which is encrypted using 256-bit AES encryption)."

http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/iphone_userguide.pdf

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Answer 2

Mar 30, 2011 3:38 PM in response to Ed Janison

You can securely erase all data and settings on the iPhone at Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings, but not just the free space. This does not erase the firmware/OS.

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