[[!meta title="Securely deleting files"]]

Tails previously included tools to *wipe* files and available disk space. We removed these tools from Tails 6.0 (February 2024), because we think that they are not reliable enough on modern storage devices, such as USB sticks and Solid-State Drives (SSDs).

To better protect from data recovery, use encrypted volumes, overwrite the entire device, or disintegrate it physically.

<h1 id="risks">Limitations of file deletion</h1>

See also [[!wikipedia Data_erasure desc="Wikipedia: Data Erasure"]].

<h2 id="delete">Deleting a file does not erase its content</h2>

**Operating systems do not actually remove the contents of a file when ithe file is
deleted**, even after emptying the trash or explicitly removing the file, from
the command line for example.
.

Operating systems do not actually remove the content of a file when the file is deleted, even after emptying the trash or removing the file from the command line.

Instead, operating systems only mark the space that was used by the deleted file as available for future files, because it is much faster to do. However, the content of the deleted file remains on the device until the operating system reuses the space for another file.

<p>Simple data recovery tools can recover deleted files.</p>

<h2 id="copy">Other copies of the data might be stored elsewhere</h2>

Other copies of the data might exist elsewhere on the device:

Some applications, for example, office applications, store temporary backup versions of the file to be able to recover from failures.

Modern operating systems can store a *journal*, a history of recent changes to the file system, or *snapshots*, an image of the file system at a particular point in time.

<h2 id="spare">Spare memory cells can store a hidden copy of the data</h2>

Flash memory devices, such as USB sticks and SSDs (Solid-State Drives), have *spare memory cells* that are used to replace broken memory cells over time. Modern hard disks also integrate small flash memories for performance and reliability.

Any data that was stored in the device can remain available in these spare cells.

These spare cells are managed directly by the device and neither the user nor the operating system can control what is stored in them.

<p>Specialized data recovery companies can recover data from spare cells.</p>

<h1 id="mitigation">Mitigation techniques</h1>

Given the limitations described above, there is no perfect solution to file deletion.