In the process of factory resetting a couple of iPhones to sell, i came across a number of tools claiming to be able to recover deleted data from iPhones.
Is this actually possible? Some of them are quite expensive, so i presume they must offer something.
As i have had everything from credit cards to many photos of receipts and contracts on the phones, id rather not sell them if there is a chance someone could just download software.
Anybody know for sure?
Thanks in advance
I used to work as a small device process manager in a non-profit organization that was responsible for tech recycling, so all the computers, storage devices etc have to go through DBAN before they can be recycled or resold. Since you can't do that for iPhones, all you can do is to de-authorize the AppleID on the iPhone (we asked the donor to do this prior to dropping off their old phones) and then we reset them according to iOS security recommendation. Here's the iOS security note below.
"Erase All Content and Settings
The “Erase all content and settings” option in Settings obliterates all the keys in Effaceable Storage, rendering all user data on the device cryptographically inaccessible. Therefore, it’s an ideal way to be sure all personal information is removed from a device before giving it to somebody else or returning it for service.
Important: Don’t use the “Erase all content and settings” option until device has been backed up, as there is no way to recover the erased data."
So when you reset an iPhone, you are essentially destroying the cypher keys necessary to access the user data. The tools available are used to recreate the cypher keys necessary to access the data, but this is HARDER than you think and you really need heavy duty computing power which only government agencies possess like the NSA or the 5 eyes, 9 eyes and 14 eyes agencies also possess. We used to have a client and she was an investigative reporter to expose the 5 eyes secrets and not only her iPhone and Macbook got hacked through breaking crypto (they managed to get the keys) and compromised her security and work and threats to her own and family.
So unless you have a death wish against the NSA, 5 eyes, 9 eyes and 14 eyes spy agencies, no one would really be inclined to see what's in any soccer mom's former iPhone. The chances of that happening is pretty nil. That's how we both (me and the iPhone iOS tech) came to the conclusion as we are accountable for data destruction on all smart devices, because we can't DBAN an iPhone. Due to this nature, some of our sensitive customers chose to destroy their iPhones rather than to recycle them. We have a specially made anvil used to destroy phones and hard drive that contain sensitive data and that was the fun part of our job! Crushing them!
Hope this helps.
