How To Delete Iphone Data Remotely

You should wipe an iPhone of all of its data and return it to factory conditions if you are giving away, selling, or recycling an old iPhone.
Even if you no longer have your phone, you might be able to completely erase it using the Find My feature.
Here are two ways to erase your iPhone to protect your personal and private information.
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If you're selling, giving away, or even simply recycling an old iPhone, it's important to "wipe" all the data from it, restoring it to factory conditions. This way, someone else can't recover personal or private data from your old phone.

How to wipe an iPhone you still have

Before you begin erasing your iPhone, make sure your iPhone is backed up so you can restore it to a new device. See our article "How to backup an iPhone to iCloud, to a computer through iTunes, or to an external hard drive" for details.

In addition, if you have an Apple Watch, you should unpair it from your phone as well, using the steps in "How to reset your Apple Watch and unpair it from an iPhone."

1. Sign out of iCloud and iTunes. To do that, open the Settings app and then tap your name at the top of the screen. Scroll down and tap "Sign Out." You'll need to enter your Apple ID password to complete this step.

Sign out of your Apple account on the phone before wiping it.

2. Back on the main screen in the Settings app, tap "General."

3. Scroll down and tap "Reset."

4. On the Reset page, tap "Erase All Contents and Settings." If prompted, enter your Apple ID credentials to complete this step.

Use the "Erase All Contents and Settings" command in Settings to wipe your phone.

Your phone will restart in its original factory condition.

How to wipe an iPhone you no longer have

If you don't have your iPhone – it's lost or stolen, or you gave it away before resetting it – you can erase it remotely if you opted into Apple's Find My service and your phone is turned on and able to connect to the internet.

1. Open a web browser and go to iCloud.com/find. If necessary, sign in with your Apple ID. You can also access the Find My app on another device and erase it that way.

2. Click "All Devices" at the top of the page and select your phone.

3. Click "Erase iPhone." You may need to enter your Apple ID credentials.

If your phone is connected to the internet, you should be able to wipe it remotely.

If this does not work, you won't be able to wipe your phone remotely. At the very least, you should change the password to your Apple ID, which will prevent anyone who has your phone from using it with your Apple ID and accessing your iCloud information. To do that, open your Apple ID page in a web browser. Log in, and then, in the Security section, click "Change Password…"

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

How to wipe an Android device of your personal data if you plan to sell it or give it away
How to track your iPhone's location when it's missing or stolen, or track the location of someone else's iPhone
How to stop Google from tracking your iPhone's location
iOS 14 lets you direct mention someone in an iPhone Messages group chat — here's how to do it
How to set up Face ID on your iPhone to increase the security of your device and data

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.