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Some recently surfaced screenshots from what is claimed to be iPhone software version 2.0 is offering what appears to be a simple and easy way to securely erase the current data from your iPhone. With what is pictured to be “erase all content and settings” it mentions that it will “delete all media and data” and can be found by going to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Contents and Settings.

Keep in mind the current iPhone does offer an option to delete content, and can be found following the same path, however the key item here is that this new delete option is reported to be secure. According to AppleInsider the process is similar to Leopard’s Secure Erase Trash feature where “all data is deleted, unlinked, and then overwritten several times to make it irretrievable.” It will also take a lot longer to process, they are estimating about an hour for an 8GB iPhone. Better make sure you are fully charged or better yet, plugged in to some power before beginning that process.

With lots of people looking to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G a concern that I am sure has crossed many minds was how to make sure your data is truly gone before you pass your current iPhone on to a new owner. Hopefully this will be available and work securely as expected.

[AppleInsider]