Guide to Completely Erase Data on iPhone to Avoid Privacy Leak

With growing instances of data leak and misuse, there’s a fear of digital data on iPhone landing in wrong hands. Personal photos, messages, videos, contacts, or sensitive information such as bank details, shopping apps ID etc., are at risk when selling, trading off, recycling or donating your iOS device.

So what can you do to keep your old iPhone data away from strangers’ eyes and make it 100% unrecoverable?

One solution is the commonly used Apple’s recommendation — erase iPhone data by choosing ‘erase all content and settings’ on your device. However, with professional hackers and sophisticated software available, erasing data by this method doesn’t guarantee data privacy.

Experts suggest using trusted iPhone erasure software that is 100 % safe. The software can make iPhone data unrecoverable beyond the reach of any tool.

Let’s understand in detail how to permanently erase data on iPhone by these techniques.

Clean iPhone by using ‘Erase All Content and Settings’

To clear all data from iPhone use the’Erase All Content and Settings’ option in the settings of your iOS device. It is like factory resetting your iPhone.

All the app data, settings, passwords, photos, videos, contacts, documents, messages, Calendar, chats, music, audio files etc., gets deleted after factory reset from iPhone.

However, don’t forget to first take the backup of your iPhone data in iCloud or iTunes.

Steps to erase iPhone via Settings:

• Go to Settings.
• Navigate to General > Reset> Erase All Content and Settings.
• Click Erase Now in the dialog box. Enter Passcode and Apple ID password, when prompted.

This will erase iPhone data turning the device off. When you power on the iPhone, you will see all its data is deleted including, photos videos, apps, contacts etc.

Permanently wipe iPhone to 0% recovery – Secure & tested method

Although deleting data via ‘Erase All Content and Settings’ on iPhone will make your device as clean as new, but it is not enough. Your iPhone data after factory reset is still recoverable by hackers. Thus, to protect privacy and prevent data leak by any means, it is essential to erase iPhone with the help of a professional iOS eraser software .

You can find several iOS cleaner software online but here we recommend Stellar Toolkit for iPhone. The efficient software is the best way to wipe iOS device before you sell , recycle, or donate.

It removes your personal videos, pictures, contacts, notes, calendar, browsing history, call log, chats, messages, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other sensitive information saved on your iPhone. The secure DIY software supports the latest iOS 16 and below versions. You can erase all variants including iPhone 6, iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone SE, iPhone 11, and above.

You can take the free trail and gage the software features and user-friendliness.

Step-by-step guide to erase iPhone data permanently:

Step 1: Download and launch Stellar Toolkit for iPhone on computer.

Step 2: Click on Erase Data module.

Step 3: On Erase iPhone Data screen, click **Next.
**

Step 4: As you see the Click Device to Select screen appears, connect your iPhone to computer.

Step 5: Select Erase.

Step 6: In the Erase Process box, select Yes.

Step 7: Data Erase Complete message box appears that asks for confirmation before erasing the data. Click OK.

Wrapping Up

After erasing complete iPhone data by using the secure iPhone eraser software by Stellar, there’s no need to worry about personal data leak. The software algorithms ensure that even the most advanced iOS data recovery tool cannot retrieve your information.

---

Was this article helpful?

FAQs

How do you permanently erase data so that it cannot be recovered from iPhone?

Use the best iPhone data eraser tool to permanently wipe iPhone data. This is a assure way to prevent data leak and protect privacy.

How to recover data from dead iPhone

Summary: Recovering data from a dead iPhone is precarious if you don’t acquire knowledge about your iOS device. Be wary of how your device works and its data backup options to avert data loss problems in the future. If your iPhone has turned dead because of a major technical glitch, you can recover the data stored in it using a reliable data recovery software. This blog encapsulates all such concrete details with a step-by-step guide to recover data from dead iPhone.

iPhone is one of the most affluent smartphones loaded with advanced features. Most people invest in it because its upbeat features and advanced technology intrigue them. Every time Apple announces a new upgrade or introduces new features to its iOS software upgrade, iPhone fans dig deep to learn more about it.

If your iPhone is dead and not working at all, and you want to learn how to recover data from dead iPhone, this blog is exclusively for you.

Why would an iPhone suddenly go dead?

These are the possible reasons why iPhone turns dead or blank for hours:

1. A defective charging cable or adapter that doesn’t perfectly pair with your iOS device.
2. A recent iOS update that triggered some unforeseen software error in your iPhone.
3. Faulty or failed hardware, like a battery or a logic board that needs to be replaced.

In either of the above-mentioned conditions, your iPhone will stop responding to any command. Turning the device off and restarting works in rare circumstances, but not always. In such bleak situations, you can try to fix your dead iPhone using these tips:

• Keep a close watch over the charging cable or power adapter and fix the loose ends.
• Put your dead iPhone on charge for at least an hour.
• Connect your iPhone to iTunes or put it on Device Firmware Update (DFU) mode.
• Seek immediate assistance from Apple Support Services.

If these attempts won’t bring your iPhone back to life, certainly it has some major technical glitch that only Apple experts can address. Before submitting your device for the same, recover all the data stored in it. Follow these DIY solutions to recover data from dead iPhone:

Use iTunes to Recover Data from Dead iPhone

iTunes is one of the most coveted options to recover data recovery from dead iPhone. However, to use this method, your iPhone should be in sync with iTunes, and you have to periodically take data backup on it. Observe the steps to keep data backup on iTunes:

• Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes to login.
• From the menu bar at the top of the iTunes window, select File > Library > Organize Library.
• Next, select Consolidate files to organize the Library screen and press OK.
• Once you do that, copies of any files that were not in the iTunes Media folder will be added to your iTunes Media folder.
• At the same time, take the opportunity to eliminate all the duplicate files taking unnecessary space on your hard drive. However, before making this move, save a copy of the original files in your iTunes Media Folder.

If you have been practicing the above steps for long, then simply connect your device with your computer using a USB cable and follow steps to recover data from iTunes backup:

• Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes.
• Select your iPhone in the main iTunes window or select it from Finder.
• The move will prompt a new set of instructions on iTunes with options to backup data. You need to click on Restore Backup to retrieve your dead iPhone’s data.
• Several backup options will prompt on your computer. You can choose a selected set of files to restore a specific file or all of them.
• Once selected, the desired number of files/data to restore, press Restore, and wait. The move may restart your iPhone. If not, your device will suffer a more serious hardware failure that only technical experts can fix.

Pro Tip: If found dead, let your iPhone remain off for as long as possible to avoid data overwriting.

Use iCloud to Recover Data from Dead iPhone

If you are proactively using iCloud to maintain data backup, there is a fair chance to recover your dead phone’s data from it. You can directly recover data from iCloud on another iPhone that doesn’t necessarily require connection to a laptop or computer. All you need is an iPhone that can be turned on at least and let you through the initial steps to login to your iCloud. Don’t forget to erase your dead iPhone before continuing on the new one; otherwise, you won’t get to perform the initial set-up. Follow the steps below to restore dead iPhone’s data from iCloud Backup:

• Turn on the working iPhone and perform the initial setup procedures till you get through Apps & Data. Tap on Restore from iCloud Backup option and sign in with your Apple ID.

• A window will prompt you with all backups available for restoring. Select the most recent one that contains all the data you wish to retrieve from your dead iPhone.
• Patiently wait for the data transfer procedure to finish.
• In the data transfer procedure, at some point, you might be asked to enter your Apple ID once again. Enter details to keep the action going.
• Once done, you’ll get a notification of successful data transfer.

You can also transfer all your dead iPhone data to a new one by inserting its SIM card in the new iPhone. Learn here how to Transfer Data from Old iPhone to New iPhone .

Use a Reliable Data Recovery Software

Your last respite is a professional data recovery software in case a vast amount of data from dead iPhone, like photos, videos, messages, contacts, etc., remain missing after iCloud recovery. We recommend Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone because it guarantees absolute recovery of lost or deleted data from iPhone, iTunes, and iCloud. Listing some common situations where the software can help:

• If iTunes fails to restore data after unlocking the disabled iPhone.
• If some data is found missing after restoring data from iTunes or iCloud.
• Instead of restoring all files from the iPhone, you wish to recover only some selected files.

You can download the demo version of the software for assessment and buy the software to activate its key functionalities. It will activate via activation key that will be sent on your email once you purchase the software. Read this KB to learn How to Activate Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone . Additionally, using the Toolkit version of the software, identified as Stellar Eraser for iPhone , you can permanently remove all the sensitive data stored in your dead iPhone so it won’t fall into the wrong hands.

Conclusion:

Avid iPhone users know when to stop playing with their iOS device to let it reset in case of a technical glitch. Nevertheless, not all iPhone users are aware of this practice. Consequently, we panic and keep on switching off and on our smartphones when it hangs.

If your phone turns blank or dead, don’t panic and stop using your device for some time. Let it rest and resume its function. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing all the memories stored in it. This blog aimed to help you understand the grim consequences and smart ways to recover data from iPhone if your device turns dead. In case you are unable to recover data on your own using Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone, you can avail Data Recovery Lab-Services where our experts can recover all the data from your dead iPhone.

FAQs:

What to do if iPhone is not working?

If your iPhone has stopped responding to any command and you can’t even turn it off, then force shutdown and restart it. Swiftly press and release the volume up button first and repeat the same with volume down button. Now, press and hold the side button and once the Apple logo appears on the screen, release the side button too.

Why is my phone unresponsive?

Your iPhone’s touchscreen can be unresponsive for reasons like a brief hiccup or glitch that your smartphone’s inner system can’t detect or render it unresponsive. Sometimes, touch screen becomes unresponsive due to water damage or app glitch, or virus attack.

Why did my iPhone screen go black?

In iPhone, black screen appears due to software or hardware issues. Firmware modifications, dropping the iPhone, iOS upgrade/downgrade, and jailbreaking, are some other common reasons behind the black screen error. Learn some great solutions to overcome the black screen of death error .

Solved: Photos Disappeared from iPhone Suddenly

‘I noticed that over 500 old photos from iPhone 11 have disappeared and now only the recently shot pictures are showing! I lost almost all of my best memories saved in my phone. I am sure I did not delete them. Where did the pictures disappeared from iPhone? How do I get back photos missing from iPhone? Please help.’

Photos suddenly disappearing from iPhone or random photos missing from Camera Roll or Gallery is a common complaint. Usually, photos get disappeared after iOS update, iPhone reset/restore, or when the device storage is full. You may also lose pictures after installing any new software, or jailbreaking. Sometimes, running an iPhone cleaning software without checking what it is deleting on your iOS device can also result in loss of photos.

The situation is stressful, even more when you don’t have any copies or backup of lost photos.

So how to recover the missing or lost photos on iPhone? This post shares the effective methods to get back the missing photos from Camera Roll, Gallery, or iCloud on your iPhone.

In any such sudden photo loss situation, the best solution is to use a secure photo recovery tool for iPhone that can recover photos lost due to any reason. Besides, there are free methods that might restore disappeared photos from iPhone, which you should try once.

Method 1: Restart your iPhone

If your photos suddenly disappeared from iPhone, first restart the iOS device. Then open the Photo app, Camera Roll, or Photo Stream to see if the missing photos are showing or not.

You can check here the steps to restart your iPhone model .

Method 2: Restore photos from Recently Deleted folder on iPhone

You might have accidentally deleted the photos on iPhone. Check and recover the photos from the ‘Recently Deleted’ folder of your Photos app.

Steps to recover photos on iPhone from ‘Recently Deleted’:

• On your iPhone, click to follow Photos > Albums.
• Scroll down to Utilities and click Recently Deleted.
• Look for your missing photo, tap on it and choose Recover. If there are multiple photos, click on ‘Select’ followed by ‘Recover’.

Note: Photos deleted on iPhone stay in your ‘Recently Deleted’ folder only for 30 days, after which they are permanently removed from the iOS device.

Method 3: Unhide photos on iPhone

Photos disappeared from iPhone can be in the hidden folder in Photos app. Simply, check the Hidden folder on your device and unhide the required photos.

• Open Photos app on iPhone.
• Click on Albums.
• Under Utilities click on Hidden folder. In case you don’t see the ‘Hidden’ folder, go to ‘Settings’ of your iPhone. Click on ‘Photos’ and toggle on ‘Hidden Album’.
• If you see the disappeared photos, select and click on the ‘Share’ button (the arrow icon).
• Next, tap Unhide to move the pictures to their original location on iPhone.

Method 4: Enable iCloud Photos

iCloud Photos store images in iCloud and syncs them to your iPhone, iPad, iCloud.com, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple TV. This means that any changes done to pictures library on one device will show up on your other iOS devices as well. If the photos are disappearing from iPhone only, may be the iCloud Photo is not synced or turned on. So enable iCloud Photos to get back the disappeared pictures on iPhone.

Steps to enable iCloud Photos on iPhone:

• Turn on Wi-Fi of your iPhone.
• On iPhone, navigate to Settings.
• Click on your name and tap iCloud > Photos.
• Toggle on iCloud Photos.

Now check if the missing photos are showing up on iPhone or not.

Method 5: Recover iPhone photos from iTunes backup

If you have created iTunes backup, restore the disappeared photos on iPhone from it. However, this will replace your existing iPhone data with iTunes backup data.

Steps to recover photos from iTunes:

• Connect your iPhone to computer.
• Launch iTunes.
• Select your iPhone under the device list and click on Summary.
• Click Restore Backup.
• In the Restore from Backup box, select the backup date that contains your photos.

• Click Restore. Wait until the process finishes and your iPhone restarts. All your disappeared photos will be recovered on iPhone.

Method 6: Restore photos from iCloud Backup

You can restore the previous iCloud backup that has the missing photos. However, like iTunes, this method will also replace the current data on your iPhone.

Steps to recover disappeared photos from iCloud:

• On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset.
• Click on Erase all Contents and Settings. In the dialog box, choose Erase Now.
• On the Apps & Data screen, click Restore from iCloud Backup. Enter your Apple ID. In case you have forgot your Apple ID, click here to know how to recover it.

• Select the recent backup and click Restore. The lost photos should now appear on iPhone.

Method 7: Recover lost photos with an iPhone data recovery software

The advanced iPhone recovery software — Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone, can restore photos lost, deleted, or missing due to any reason. Whether your photos disappeared from iPhone after update, due to low storage, or any other reason, the software can recover in all situations.

The biggest advantage of using the software is that it doesn’t remove your existing iPhone data. Further, the software shows the preview of the recoverable photos. Hence, its easy to select and recover only the required disappeared pictures from Camera Roll, iCloud Photo Library, Gallery, or those shared on chat messages, etc. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is compatible with the latest iPhone 14/13/12/11, iPad, and iPod touch.  The software supports recovery from the latest iOS 16 and older versions.

Quick steps to recover disappeared photos from iPhone:

• Download Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on PC or Mac.
• Connect your iPhone to computer.
• Launch the software and select Recover from iPhone option from the left panel.

• Select the Camera Roll or Photo Stream from where the photos have disappeared and click Next to the start the scanning process.
• Now preview the recoverable photos, select them, and click Save to restore on iPhone or computer.

Note: You can also recover the lost photos from backup by choosing Recover from iCloud backup or Recover from iTunes backup , options in the software.

Conclusion

When you find suddenly photos disappearing from iPhone try any of the above 7 methods to get back the lost pictures. However, of all we recommend solutions Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software is quick and easy to use. It is also of great help when you don’t want to recover from iCloud or iTunes backup that removes the existing data on iPhone.

---

How to find lost iPhone Backup files on Windows PC?

Summary: You have to restore iPhone data. But you cannot find backup files saved on your Windows PC or the backup files are unreadable. This post guides you to find iPhone backup on Windows PC and methods to restore it on your device.

You may get into a terrible iPhone data loss situation after a factory reset, stolen iPhone, jailbreak or physical damage to your device, etc. Backup is your only resort. But another shocker is waiting for you. You cannot find iPhone backup files once saved on your Windows PC.

Your backup files are not readable, and you have no clue how to access them.

In such a situation, keep calm and do not worry. If you have ever saved your iPhone backup on a Windows computer and are now unable to locate or access it, this post guides you to find an iPhone backup on a PC and how to restore it on your device.

Where are iPhone backups stored on Windows PC?

iPhone backups are safe copies of your complete device information. iTunes saves iPhone backup in the Users folder on a Windows computer. These backup files are not in a readable format. You can copy them but should never try to move files to a different drive, edit, rename or extract content. All such activities can ruin the backup files. However, you can make copies of your backup or delete backup that you do not require anymore.

Steps to find iPhone backup files on Windows PC:

• In the Search bar, enter %appdata% or %USERPROFILE% (if you downloaded iTunes from the Microsoft Store)
• Press Return
• Double-click these folders: Apple Computer > MobileSync > Backup

You can also locate iPhone backup in Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11 by following Users > (username) > AppData > Roaming > Apple Computer > MobileSync > Backup.

Cannot locate iPhone backup on Windows PC? Find and Restore data with iPhone data recovery software.

If you cannot find your iPhone backup data on your PC or cannot access the backup files, take refuge in third-party software – Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone.

How can Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone help you?

You can find, access, and restore lost iPhone backup files with Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. It is a secure tool that efficiently scans the computer to find your iPhone backup. The recovered iPhone backup files are in readable form, and you can either save them on your PC or iPhone.

When you can use the Stellar iPhone data recovery solution

• You are unable to locate your iPhone backup files
• Your backup files are either lost or deleted.
• You cannot access iPhone backup files on Windows PC
• Not able to restore backup on your old/new iPhone

How can Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone recover lost backup files from PC?

The iPhone Data Recovery Tool by Stellar is a do-it-yourself software that quickly recovers complete iPhone data in a readable form from your Windows PC.

You can recover all your lost photos, videos, contacts, messages, Safari bookmarks, Call history, Reminders, Voice memos, Notes, WhatsApp, Kik, WeChat, Viber messages, etc.

It also offers a Deep Scan if your desired iPhone information is not recovered after the first scan. A deep scan does a comprehensive scan of the selected device or backup to recover every bit of lost or deleted backup information.

Benefits of Stellar iPhone Data Recovery

• Recovery of deleted or lost backup files
• Recovers data in a readable format
• Option to restore only that data from backup which you want to be in your iPhone
• Allows to save recovered backup on computer or iPhone

Step-by-step recovery of lost iPhone backup on Windows PC with Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch the software.

Step 2: On the home screen, select Recover from iPhone. The scanning process begins.

Step 3: After scanning, all the files on your iPhone are listed.

If you do not see the required files in the list, choose Deep Scan. It will scan for the backup stored on your computer system.

Step 4: Select and save the recovered iPhone data at your desired location. You can save it on your iPhone if you want to restore backup data on your device or save it on your computer.

Wrapping Up

Losing iPhone data after factory reset, jailbreak, being stuck in a boot loop or physical damage, etc., can get messier when you cannot find or retrieve information from iPhone backup files saved on your computer. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone significantly relieves such data loss situations.

This iPhone utility not only finds the lost iPhone backup files on Windows PC, but it also makes them readable and allows you to save/restore them to your iPhone or computer. Moreover, it lets you selectively transfer iPhone data on your iPhone rather than complete a backup.

You can download the free trial version to evaluate its performance. It is undoubtedly not going to disappoint you.