How to Really Empty the Trash on Mac OS X

On Mac if you want to delete the files from Trash then just Cmd + click on it and select the option Empty Trash and it asks to confirm either you want to Empty Trash or not.

The process to empty the Trash is simple and you think that in this way your Trash is securely empty but actually those deleted files still exist on Mac hard disk until these will be overwritten by any other deleted files. It means the files which are deleted from Trash could be recovered through any recovery tool.

So, if you want to permanently and quickly delete your files from Mac OS X and do not want to send them in Trash then there is an option available Empty Trash Securely. The tip to do that is very simple and could be used in two different ways which are written in follows.

Method 1

Step 1

Press Cmd+Shift+ Click on Trash and select Secure Empty Trash option


Step 2

It prompt to confirm the deletion process so click on Secure Empty Trash button and it will start deleting items permanently from Trash.

Method 2:

You may also set your Mac to always Secure Empty Trash. To enable this option permanently you may adapt the following method.

Step 1

Click on Finder


Step 2

Go to Finder menu >> Preferences


Step 3

Click Advanced icon and mark the check box besides Empty Trash securely and close the screen

Now Cmd + Click on Trash and observe the change what you made.

3 comments… add one
Wise July 26, 2010, 1:20 pm

I was searching for that b/c i have deleted the file on my Mac and still reserving the space, Thanks for the to delete files permanently.

Lee August 5, 2010, 1:58 am

Don’t empty the trash until you are sure that you don’t need the data.

eddy April 27, 2013, 1:40 pm

Hi, I’ve tried your method of deleting the trash. The trash bin still contains the same number of files, so how do I really, really empty the trash?

Regards
Eddy

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