Two steps, in this order: back everything up, then erase the phone with Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. That one command wipes your personal data, removes the device from your Apple Account, and resets it to factory state in about a minute. Skipping the backup is the only mistake that's hard to undo.

TL;DR

  • Back up first (iCloud or Mac), confirm it finished, then erase.
  • Erase All Content and Settings is the right wipe: it removes data and signs out of Apple Account.
  • Turn off Find My / Activation Lock as part of the erase, or the buyer can't activate it.
  • Cleaning out junk before backing up makes the backup smaller and faster.
  • After erasing, data is not casually recoverable, so the backup is your only safety net, keep it.

What should I do before I erase anything?

Back up. Use Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now, or connect to a Mac, open Finder, and back up there. Wait for it to complete and note the timestamp. If your iCloud storage is too small, a quick cleanup of large videos and duplicates first can get the backup under your free tier, see how to find and delete large videos on iPhone without deleting photos.

How do I check what's eating storage before backing up?

Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage to see the size breakdown. A leaner library means a faster backup and less to verify. If something large is unaccounted for, dig in here: iPhone storage full but nothing to delete: what's actually using it.

How do I actually wipe the iPhone?

Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. Tap Continue, enter your passcode, then your Apple Account password when prompted. That password step is what disables Activation Lock and signs you out of Find My, so don't skip it. The phone reboots to the Hello screen, ready for its new owner.

What if I don't have the phone in hand anymore?

If you already shipped it for trade-in, sign in at iCloud.com or use Find My on another device, select the phone, and choose Erase This Device, then Remove from Account. This is a fallback, not the clean path, so erase before it leaves your hands whenever you can.

What iOS does natively, and where it stops

Natively, Erase All Content and Settings does the security-critical work: it crypto-erases your data, removes Activation Lock, and unpairs the device. That part is solid and you should rely on it. Where it stops is preparation. iOS won't slim your library before the backup, won't flag the giant videos bloating your iCloud backup, and won't help you decide what's worth keeping. Cleanor handles that pre-step, scanning on-device to surface big files and duplicates so your final backup is small and clean.

A note on safety and recoverability

Erase All Content and Settings is designed to be irreversible, that's the point for a phone leaving your hands. So the backup you made is the only copy of your data afterward. Before erasing, confirm the backup completed and that you can see your photos and contacts in iCloud or on your Mac. Note that anything you delete during pre-cleanup still passes through Recently Deleted for ~30 days, but the factory erase itself is final.

FAQ

Is Erase All Content and Settings enough to protect my data on a trade-in?

Yes. On modern iPhones it performs a cryptographic erase, which makes your old data unreadable without securely wiping every bit. Combined with signing out of your Apple Account during the process, it's the method Apple recommends before selling or trading in.

Do I have to turn off Find My separately?

No, the erase flow handles it. When you enter your Apple Account password during Erase All Content and Settings, it disables Activation Lock and signs you out of Find My automatically. Just make sure you complete that password step rather than cancelling.

Can I recover photos after I erase the phone?

Not from the phone itself, the erase is final. You recover only from the backup you made beforehand. That's why backing up and verifying it comes first, and why you should keep that backup until your new phone is fully set up.

Before you wipe, let Cleanor for iPhone trim the heavy files so your backup is fast and lean, and use it to free up iPhone space on your new device too, all on-device and private.