OS X El Capitan version 10.11 downloaded recently, previously Maverick.
How do I "Securely Empty Trash"? In Finder there is only one choice, that is, "Empty Trash".
Mark P
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11)
Secure Empty Trash has been removed because it can cause problems for SSDs
It isn't that it causes problems; it is that it doesn't work reliably for both mechanical & solid state drives. See for example John Galt's lengthy reply on page 7 of Secure Empty Trash missing on El Capitan for a full explanation.
This has nothing to do with what OS X version you use. It is a result of the way modern drives work.
"Secure Empty Trash" is gone as per their posting:
Anyway, as long as UNIX is still around, here are 3 commands you could use - you could also create an alias for anyone of these...
Eric Root wrote:
OS X El Capitan: Delete files and folders needs to be updated since Finder > Secure Empty Trash was removed in the final 10.11 release, per the already mentioned info in About the security content of OS X El Capitan v10.11 article.
If you're getting this message
which Secure Delete used to override and delete you can do it as follows:
1 - open the Trash bin and Control (right) - click on the file in question.
2 - select Delete Immediately from the contextual menu.
3 - you'll get this window which is self explanatory:
How do I securely empty Trash in OS X EL Capitan?
