How to Permanently Delete Videos from an SD Memory Card

To permanently delete videos from an SD card, you typically use the device’s user interface to which the SD card is connected or connect it to your PC and use the File Explorer to delete all private videos. After deletion, you may think the files are gone but they are not. The files still remain on the drive even after permanent deletion.

Here’s How File Deletion Works

File deletion works by removing the pointer or address to the file, not the actual file. Therefore, when you delete videos from your SD card — whether using an Android interface or the built-in delete option in the device (e.g. camera), to which the SD card is connected — the files still remain intact.

Just that they become inaccessible because the Master File Table (MFT) — used by the device’s OS to track the record of files and folders — no more holds the address to the file.

In simple words, you must erase the videos, especially if they are confidential and private, to get rid of them permanently.

For erasing the videos, you need a specialized data erasure software such as Stellar File Eraser, which is capable of destroying videos and all other selected data from your SD card or any other storage media permanently, and beyond the scope of recovery. To accomplish the erase task, the software comes equipped with 3 international data erasure algorithms such as DOD 5220.22-M.

Further, to meet regulatory compliances and satisfaction of the user, the software provides a Certificate of Erasure (certified by Stellar Data Recovery) comprising information about the deleted files, and it guarantees that the files destroyed using Stellar File Eraser software cannot be recovered even with forensics tools!

How to Permanently Delete Videos from SD Card?

Follow these steps to permanently delete videos from your SD card and destroy them beyond recovery:

1. Install, and run the Stellar File Eraser software
2. Connect the SD card to the system using SD card adapter, or use a USB cable to connect the device with SD card to mount it on your Windows PC
3. Go to File Explorer and check if SD card is accessible
4. Go to ‘Settings. Select the data erasure algorithm and verification method from the respective dropdowns
5. Goto Home and then click Erase Deleted Data
6. On the next screen, connected volumes and drive are displayed. Select the SD card to erase all contents of your SD card in one go
7. If you are looking to erase only specific files/folders from your SD card, follow the steps below
8. Click ‘Erase Files and Folders and on the next screen, click on Add items button’
9. From the list, select the SD card and expand it to select the specific file(s)
10. After you’ve made the selection, click on Erase Now button.
11. After the erasure task is finished, the software asks you to reboot the system. Click ‘No’ as we have erased files from an external storage, not from internal.

At this stage, you have successfully destroyed your private and confidential videos, and now the securely erased videos cannot be recovered with any software or service including forensics.

Besides, you can also use the Stellar File Eraser software as a privacy-safeguarding tool and a data erasure utility for your daily needs. The software offers inbuilt options to securely erase your internet activities (logins, passwords, transactions, etc.), system traces, and application traces that might contain sensitive information.

Conclusion:

Using the Shift+Delete command or other inbuilt OS options to delete files in your smartphone, camera, and other devices do not permanently remove the files, but just remove the addresses to those files.

Therefore, it is recommended to use a secure data erasure software such as Stellar File Eraser to ensure that your confidential, sensitive, and private data is permanently removed, beyond the scope of recovery.

More so because Stellar File Eraser employs specialized data erasure algorithms such as DOD, etc. to sanitize your device.

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About The Author

Aruna Attri

Aruna Attri is a Senior Data Recovery Expert at Stellar®. She is a technology blogger and Windows expert. She has experience in Windows data recovery domain. She loves to troubleshoot Windows issue and write technical tips and tutorials.