ShredIt will wipe the free space on any Android device – phone, tablet or TV. Why would you want to do this? Are you aware that when you just delete data from your phone, it’s still in your free space until it’s overwritten by something else. Seeing that you don’t know when that will happen, you can take care of the problem yourself by shredding the free space.
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Instructions: How to Wipe Free Space on Android
Time needed: 1 hour
To wipe the free space on your Android device, follow these easy steps
- Launch ShredIt – Android
On the device for which you want to wipe the free space, launch ShredIt – Android
- Configure the Settings
From the Settings screen, pick your overwrite options and run ShredIt – Android.
- From the Shred screen, Click “Shred“
- You can watch the progress on the Shred screen.
ShredIt – Android does the rest for you. When the operation is complete, the free space on your Android device will be wiped so it can’t be recovered.
Technical Notes
How often should I wipe my free space?
Whenever you are concerned about what could potentially be in your free space, wipe your free space with ShredIt Android. In addition, you might want to consider running ShredIt Android on a regular, scheduled basis if that’s easier for you rather than trying to recall what you’ve had on your phone.
Wipe only free space or do a Factory Reset?
This procedure wipes just the free space on your Android device. So, unlike doing a Factory Reset, it does not impact any of the apps or data that are also on your phone. In addition, whereas wiping the free space overwrites the data on your device, doing a Factory Reset just moves all the data into your free space.
How long will it take to wipe the free space?
To wipe the free space on the device will take 1.35 minutes per gig for a one-pass overwrite.
To estimate how long the job will take, go into your Android settings to determine the available space on your Android device. (Settings > Device > Storage > Available space)
Then, multiply that by 1.35
- For example, if you have 10 gb of Available storage, then it will take about 13-14 minutes to wipe the free space.
10 x 1.35 = 13.5 minutes - For example, if you had done a Factory reset and then were wiping a 64 gb phone, in would take about an hour and ten minutes. (By comparison to do a Factory Reset on a 64gb phone will take less than 15 minutes.)
What if I do more than one pass?
Each pass will add to the time it takes to wipe the free space.
- For example, if you have 10 gb of available storage and you were doing 5 passes, then it will take about 67-68 minutes to wipe the free space.
i.e. 10 x 1.35 x 5 = 67.5 minutes
Wipe free space or use encryption?
Although using encryption enhances security, it may not be “good enough” as the BBC reports in this article about data retrieval, British spies ‘moved after Snowden files read’
Is there a ShredIt for my other devices?
ShredIt is cross-platform, and is also available for iOS, as well as most desktop computers from Mireth Technology Corp. There’s a ShredIt version for Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, Mac OS 8, Mac OS 7, as well as most versions of Windows
Support
Where to get additional Help
- Read the FAQ
- Refer to the Tutorials
- Look through the Questions Forum
- If you can’t find what you’re looking for, Contact Support
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