What does the Free Space Erase feature do in iShredder, and how good is it?

The “Free Space Erase” feature in iShredder™ ensures that unused storage blocks on your device (for example, a hard drive or flash storage) are securely overwritten. This permanently destroys previously deleted files that could normally still be recovered with common recovery tools. Because operating systems usually remove only the reference to a file—but not the underlying data itself—this additional step is essential for protecting your privacy and preventing misuse.

Why is this important?

• If you delete a photo or document, for example, the actual data remains unchanged on the storage. It is simply marked as “free” and can be found and reconstructed by common recovery tools.
• With iShredder™, you overwrite the entire free storage space and effectively prevent third parties from accessing your previously deleted content.

How does it work?

1. In the background, iShredder™ creates a large file to fill the entire free storage space.
2. All unused blocks are overwritten according to internationally recognized deletion standards and military-grade algorithms—iShredder™ is considered a leader in this field and is trusted by governments, agencies, and millions of users worldwide.
3. Afterward, this temporary file is removed automatically so your storage becomes available again.

There are two important points you should keep in mind:

No additional storage space:
Securely erasing the free space does not create new storage capacity. The overwrite only ensures that the blocks in which deleted data previously existed are no longer usable for recovery.

Technical limitations:

• If another file has already overwritten the same storage area, iShredder™ does not need to do anything there anymore.
• With certain operating system processes or file operations, individual traces of data may be accessible only to a limited extent. As a result, some fragments may already have been overwritten elsewhere before iShredder™ is used.

With iShredder™’s “Free Space Erase” feature, you ensure that your deleted data really disappears—according to the highest security standards. That gives you peace of mind that photos, documents, or other sensitive information cannot be recovered by curious eyes.

Learn more about iShredder™ and our secure deletion methods at
www.protectstar.com/de/products/ishredder