# Best way to scrub my iPhones. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655 "2015-07-19T23:15:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/1 "2015-07-19T23:15:40Z")
We recently got new iPhones and need to scrub our old Apple iPhone 4S and 5C. I’m talking a deep scrub/erasure of all data on the iPhones. Recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/2 "2015-07-19T23:52:28Z")
You can do it right from the phone itself. Just make sure you have all your data off of it that you want to keep, and go to Settings-\>General-\>Reset-\>Erase All Content and Settings. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/3 "2015-07-20T00:34:57Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > You can do it right from the phone itself. > Just make sure you have all your data off of it that you want to keep, and go to Settings-\>General-\>Reset-\>Erase All Content and Settings. Thanks beowulff. Question, will this wipe _everything_ from the phone in the event I want to sell it? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/4 "2015-07-20T01:02:13Z")
Not sure how securely it will erase everything, but short of using some kind of jail-broken erasing app I don’t see any other way to do it… ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/5 "2015-07-20T05:27:54Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Not sure how securely it will erase everything, but short of using some kind of jail-broken erasing app I don’t see any other way to do it… Quite securely. iPhones are encrypted all of the time with a random encryption key kept on the phone itself (in addition to any other encryption added). The “erase all data” option deletes the stored encryption key, which more or less instantly makes all the data on the phone permanently inaccessible, no actual erasure necessary. More information (way, way, way more information) and details are published by Apple here (PDF, if you’re one of the three people on Earth who care): [Apple Platform Security - Apple Support](http://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/6 "2015-07-20T07:05:02Z")
Well, that’s more for enterprise issues, for consumer wipes, advice is here. [What to do before you sell, give away or trade in your iPhone or iPad – Apple Support (UK)](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201351) it’s pretty short though. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/7 "2015-07-20T12:14:09Z")
I think I’m going to run my car over these devices, or, I can just blend them. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-scrub-my-iphones/725655/8 "2015-07-20T19:45:56Z")
Sandblasting. It’s the only way to be sure.