How to delete files off a flash drive safely from computer?

For Mac users, you can use the built-in add command for permanently deleting files from USB flash drive.

First, open the Terminal app and identify the USB flash drive.

diskutil list

Note: In this example, the flash drive is /dev/disk2. Be sure you pick the correct disk or you risk wiping your main drive.

Before writing raw data, unmount all volumes on the device:

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2

To overwrite every block with zeros:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=1m

• /dev/rdisk2 (the “r” raw device) is faster than /dev/disk2.
• bs=1m sets a 1 MiB block size for better throughput.
• No status=progress on macOS’s built‑in dd, but you can press Control‑T in the Terminal window to see I/O stats.

Once it completes (Terminal prompt returns), you’ve done a zero‑fill pass. This is how to delete files off a flash drive on Mac.

By following these steps, you'll have a reliable, fully offline, multi‑pass wipe of your flash drive—leaving no recoverable remnants behind.