Refurb iPhones still contain previous users' data

This isn't any different than when someone buys a used computer or hard drive. Recovering personal data off a hard drive is just as easy with the proper software. Unless you specifically reformat a hard drive or NAND flash drive and zero-out the entire disk, the data isn't actually deleted. It's just marked as not needed and free for the filesystem to write over.

As soon as a new user fills it up with their own personal info, music, and pictures - all that recoverable data you couldn't wipe is overwritten. So the easiest thing to do would be to delete everything, and fill it up with random crap to overwrite everything, and wipe it again (at least until a utility is released to do a full-on format).

This is a very scary proposition and the fact that Apple has locked the iP1 down so tight you cannot securely wipe your data and prevent hackers and other criminal types (as noted above) from getting your data.

Having owned many pda's and SmartPhones I am glad that the one I use does offer a secure wipe option and it can be done remotely or manually. I am not sure I want to trust the remote wipe feature developed by MS and tweaked by Apple to secure wipe my device. There are alternatives available and one does offer that level of security.

Couldn't you just wipe the iPhone with iTunes and simply fill the iPhone with data (pics, tunes, etc.), then wipe again?

Sounds like a great opportunity for a shareware developer... the iPhone iNuke.

They really need to add a writer to zero option for the Factory Restore option.

And hopefully the remote wipe coming in v2.0 will allow write to zero instead of just removing the markers.

Well... Dur? The same is true of pretty much every mobile phone in existence - deleting something doesn't actually zero it from the storage. It's true of your computer. Hardly such a big problem as someone pinching your stuff and having immediate access to your data anyway.

The moral of the story is, don't ever store any data anywhere in case someone gets their hands on it. Or alternatively learn to live with it...

Reminds me of a used Xbox I purchased that still had the original user's data on it for the Live service. I would have thought Apple would have been smarter with such a high profile device like the iPhone. Makes me wonder how secure the enterprises will be if they need to remotely wipe a stolen company iPhone. Apple needs to respond to this latest allegation before my money leaves my pocket.

My AT&T refurbished iPhone arrived in minty fresh condition. There was no previous data of any kind on it.

If your paranoid about someone getting yoru data I'm pretty sure you can run a dd if=/dev/zero of=/Volumes/iphonedir/test.zero

Once that crashes because it ran out of space rm -rf /Volumes/iphonedir/test.zero and ou will have efectivly reset all the bits to zero on the iphone, if this doesn't work writting an app that links against itunes to transfer a huge file of zeros over shouldn't be that hard.

Wait, wait, wait!

The data was retrieved with FORENSICS software, not just browsing about. Who has iPhone Forensics software? Cops, detectives, and unscrupulous hackers.

This is not for the common person, and the average Joe isn't going to be able to get to the info.

You can stop panicking now. Remember, the devil's in the details. Read the full links and blogs to discover the truth.

Nothing to see here, move along.