Whatever your reason might be, it’s possible to outright remove all your data from your iPhone in a few steps. However, when you delete your data, it will no longer be accessible through your iPhone interface.

There are two approaches to this. The first is that you outright move all your data to the cloud in order to collect them back when you purchase or switch to another iPhone or you already have all you need but want to completely erase all your data from your device – in the event that you’re transferring the ownership of the device to another person.

As stated above, the process of erasing your iPhone is pretty straightforward and can be done by following these two steps above

Wipe all content and settings from iPhone

1. Go to Settings  > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
   • If you’re erasing your iPhone because you’re replacing it with a new iPhone that you have on hand, you can use extra free storage in iCloud to move your apps and data to the new device.
   • Tap Get Started, follow the onscreen instructions, then return to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
2. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.

After that, the device will go into a reboot and upon reboot, your data including your settings, contact list, messages, email, photos, videos, and so forth would have been totally erased from your device.

You’ll be presented with the option to set up the iPhone once again or you can outright restore from your previous backup that was saved on your iCloud account.

Note: If you’re asked to enter your passcode and you’ve forgotten it, see Reset the passcode. If you’re asked to enter your Apple ID password and you’ve forgotten it, see the Recover your Apple ID website.

Use a computer to wipe all content and settings from iPhone

It’s also possible to erase your iPhone via your Mac computer or even a Windows PC. You can also make use of these devices as a restoration point for your settings and data if you want to recover the erased data back.

iOS. For example, if you can’t open Settings on your iPhone, you can use this approach to restore iPhone to factory settings.

1. Plug your iPhone to your computer via a cable
2. Do one of the following:
   • In the Finder sidebar on your Mac: Select your iPhone, click General at the top of the window, then click Restore iPhone. To use the Finder to restore iPhone to factory settings, macOS 10.15 or later is required. With earlier versions of macOS, use iTunes to restore iPhone.
   • In the iTunes app on a Windows PC: Click the iPhone button near the top left of the iTunes window, click Summary, then click Restore iPhone.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

And that’s it. In just two steps, you can literally factory reset your iPhone in the event that you are transferring the ownership of the device to another person or you just want to erase everything on the device for whatever reason best known to you.