iPhone security while selling iphone

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I'm finally getting around to posting this.

When I sold my 3G (to buy a 3G S) on eBay, I googled around about removing personal information on the iphone. I'm no expert, but I came across several legitimate articles saying that doing the full restore or erase of contents via itunes did not fully do the proper job.

According to a forensic expert ( Jonathan Zdziarski) who has retrieved deleted files from iphones for police departments, some personal files, emails, photos, etc, etc remain in hidden locations on the phone.

Basically one wants to erase all contents and then write over all memory with zero's or one's. Some claim that you can fill the entire disk with music, for example, but I found it easier to buy a new iphone application (by the same fellow) called iErase. The program can also be used to completely erase, delete files without destroying one that you wish to keep.

It does the same process that Mac X will do, but apparently is not part of the iPhone default suite. At least as of last summer.

Q. I am selling my iPhone / iPod. What should I do?
A. Before running iErase, you should reset all of the information on the iPhone. The most thorough way to do this is with a full restore, or a quick way is to "Reset all Settings" on the phone. The restore process only performs a quick format, however, and doesn't wipe everything, and the "Reset all Settings" process only deletes your personalized files, and doesn't even format the device. In both cases, you'll want to follow up your restore by running iErase. Once your personal data is removed - keychain passwords, configuration files, email, etc., iErase will then wipe over all of that to ensure it is beyond recovery.

Q. Won't this allow criminals to erase evidence?
A. As I frequently assist law enforcement on cases involving iPhones, I'm well aware of how a tool like this could be used to destroy evidence. While I hate the idea that a criminal might do this, I'm equally concerned about the other 99.9% of law abiding citizens whose identities, corporate secrets, and personal information is exposed on their iPhone. I believe these folks have a right to keep their personal information private - and by using iErase, crimes such as identity theft are likely to be decreased. A majority of criminals are too dumb to run a tool like this, or will leave their evidence exposed on other mediums such as desktops or pen drives. iErase is a tool, and just like encryption, can be used to protect privacy or cover up a crime. My hope is that it will succeed in the former and not hinder law enforcement.


O'Reilly Master Class: Zdziarski on iPhone Forensics - Eventbrite

iPhone forensics expert creates AMBER Alert app for iPhone - Ars Technica