Forum Discussion
Anyone know a good file shredder for mac for permanent data deletion?
Alright, so you’re thinking about just erasing your Mac’s drive using the built-in Disk Utility method instead of grabbing a dedicated file shredder for Mac. Even if you erase the drive and choose multiple overwrites, some experts say that the built-in tools might not be as foolproof as specialized shredders, especially if someone’s super tech-savvy or using advanced recovery tools. For most casual needs, it’s probably fine, but if you’re dealing with super-secret info, a dedicated shredder could be safer.
Built-in tools usually give you a few options, like 3-pass or 7-pass overwrites, but advanced shredders often offer more customizable or more thorough methods, like random data or cryptographic wiping.
If you want to really “burn” data beyond recovery, some file shredder for Mac do multiple passes and offer verification. Doing this manually via Disk Utility with security options can take longer and might not be as thorough if not configured properly. Dedicated shredder apps sometimes include checks to confirm data was wiped securely. When you just erase via Disk Utility, you’re relying on macOS’s methods, which are generally good but not necessarily foolproof against the most advanced recovery methods.