Sometimes it is possible to recover files on Android phones after deleting them. When you delete a file from your Android phone, it actually stays in your device’s memory until new data is replaced. This has been a major privacy concern in the past. You should know about the reason for this concern that you could recover deleted files at that time using data recovery software. For this reason, we must look for a way to permanently delete information in Android.
From Android 6 onwards, all Android phones are encrypted by default and prevent data recovery tools from accessing the internal content of the mobile phone. However, if you are still worried about your personal information after deleting it, in this article we will examine how to delete the information and data on your mobile phone forever.
In fact, the subject of this practical article from Digikala Mag is the introduction of five methods for permanent deletion of information in Android. So if you are taking the most care for the security of your files, follow us to the end of this fascinating article.
1) Delete the desired files using File Manager
The worst way to delete a file from your Android phone is to delete it from within the app. This causes the file to be moved to the “Trash” folder instead of being permanently deleted. Google Photos, for example, saves deleted images and videos for 60 days. The only way to escape this 60-day storage is to empty the trash manually. If you bypass this problem by selecting the Delete from device option, all of these will remain in your Google Account and will not actually be deleted completely.
A better option is to use File Manager or file explorer to permanently delete sensitive and personal items. To do this, follow the steps below in order.
- Select files from file explorer.
- Tap the Trash button or select the three-point menu.
- Now select Delete.
- Confirm that you know this delete cannot be undone and tap Delete again.
This way you should delete your files on your Android mobile phone.
2) Delete files and information with File Shredder
The second way to permanently delete information on Android is to use File Shredder. If encrypting your mobile phone does not guarantee that deleted files will not be recoverable, or if you are using an older version of Android, be sure to install a File Shredder. This will completely clear the “free” space of your device, which may still contain deleted data.
Apps like iShredder, Shreddit and Data Eraser are the best apps in this area that you should use. It should be noted that you should allow these programs to access your device files, but they will not delete anything without your approval. So safely give the necessary access to the program.
Create a free space with Data Eraser and delete its data!
In this section, we will teach you things so that you can use the Data Eraser program to recover irreversible files and relieve your worries about everything. To do this, follow the steps below.
1) Tap Freespace on the Home screen and be careful not to select Complete Erase.
2) Now select Internal Storage. This program calculates the amount of free space to clear.
3) Tap Continue and select an algorithm.
4) NATO Standard and BSU TL-0342, which perform seven and eight steps, respectively, are the most accurate in this area. However, be aware that these two cases take a long time to complete.
5) In this section you must confirm that you want to continue and Data Eraser will clear all free space on your phone so that the files you have deleted will not be recoverable in any way.
6) When the wiping process is in progress, your phone slows down and is actually difficult to work with.
7) By opening the notification at the top of the screen and tapping Cancel, you can stop it at any time.
With Data Eraser you can only delete 100 MB of your mobile files for free per day. To delete this section you need to purchase a subscription from this app. Subscription to this app costs $ 4.99. The Shreddit app is also a completely free alternative in this area, but it has a lot of ads and does not work at all on Android 11!
3) Delete Android files with your computer
If you do not want to use different programs to delete data and files on your Android phone, try this method. You can connect your Android phone to your computer and easily erase your data through Windows. This method is done using File Explorer and makes it easy and fast for you. To do this, you need to go through the steps that we will discuss below.
1) Connect your mobile phone to the computer using a USB cable. Select Open device to view the files.
2) You can also open File Explorer. Select This PC and double-click on your phone’s drive icon.
3) If your drive is empty, do the following.
- Lower the notifications section from the top of your phone screen.
- Tap USB charging this device.
- Select File transfer or Transfer files.
- Or go to Settings> Connected devices> USB and enable the option in that section.
4) Browse your phone folders to find the file you want to delete. If this is a photo or video file, it is probably in the DCIM> Camera folder.
5) Right-click on the desired item and select Delete and confirm that you want to delete it forever.
6) Note that the file will not be sent to the Windows Trash and will be lost forever. If you are thinking about how to completely erase all data from your mobile phone, this is a strong and convenient option.
4) Delete sensitive and personal files from the memory card
The fourth way to permanently delete data on Android is to erase it from the memory card. If you have a private file that you want to get rid of and it is on the memory card instead of the phone’s internal storage, there are several ways to delete it, which we will examine together.
1) First go to Settings> Storage> SD card. Find the file you want and delete it. In fact, it does not make the file recoverable, so you may want to format the memory card as well. This will completely clear its contents. As a result, first transfer the files you want to keep to the internal memory of your mobile phone.
Then tap the three-point menu in the upper right corner and select Storage settings. Now select Format. Then tap Erase & Format or Format SD card to completely erase and format the memory card.
2) On the other hand, you can connect your mobile phone to the computer or connect the memory card directly to the computer, as described above. Before removing the memory card from your device, you must first disable the card by selecting Unmount or Eject.
Check the contents of the memory card in File Explorer. Now find the desired file. Right-click on that file and select Delete. simply!
5. Reset your phone to factory settings
The last and most powerful way to permanently delete information in Android is to reset your mobile settings to factory settings. This will clear all your phone data. Therefore, it is better to use this method only before selling or recycling your device. Also note that you must back up your essential files before doing so. Follow the steps below to reset the phone to factory settings.
1) Double check that your phone is encrypted to make sure that the data can not be recovered after this.
2) Now go to Settings> Security> Advanced.
3) Tap Encryption & credentials. If this option is not already enabled, select Encrypt phone.
4) Then go to Settings> System> Advanced and tap Reset options.
5) Select Erase all data and click Delete all data.
6) Enter the security code when prompted.
7) Then tap Delete all data to reset your phone to factory settings.
This will return all the information on your mobile phone to its original state, ie factory settings.
Conclusion
No one likes to share their personal information and files with others. Although Android internal encryption should make your deleted data and files unrecoverable, for added security we have introduced five other methods in this article. So if you are worried about your personal and private files after deleting them, try one of the above methods now.
What other methods do you know for the permanent deletion of information in Android? Share your comments and experiences with us and other Digikala Mag users.
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Source: makeuseof
