Skip to main content

Empty trash on all volumes

Apply Now
Works with any MacWorks with any Mac running macOS/OS X on Intel or Apple Silicon.
  • Single actionThis page belongs to a script, containing basic changes to achieve a task.
  • macOS onlyThis script improves your privacy on macOS
  • Impact: MediumSystem Functionality Loss Risk: Moderate
    This action improves privacy with minimal impact when you run the recommended script.
    This action improves privacy with some impact when you run the recommended script.
  • Bash (Shell script)These changes use macOS system commands to update your settings.
  • Fully reversible

    You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.

    The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.

Overview

Missing Good Quality Documentation

This page does not yet meet PrivacyLearn's documentation standards. However, the script/action is stable and verified by community. Here are some options for you to understand its functionality:

Computer-generated docs (PREVIEW)

This documentation may be low quality but still useful.
Read computer-generated explanation

This documentation is automatically extracted from the code implementation.

MacOS privacy integration tip: empty trash on all volumes to restrict personal data sharing as a result of important privacy maintenance — this publication walks you step by step through how..

Preserving human rights in a digital society relies on data privacy security. Enhanced through simple steps, initialize this guideline to handle digital data privacy defenses preferences - follow the guide to adjust the configuration. Completing each step properly will save you from frustration later.

References

Technical Details

  • This instruction set orchestrates your files to be able to reinforce online privacy guardrail with support of data leakage prevention. This script can also help accelerate the system while improved disk performance.
  • The config here handles privileged operations to obtain managing sudo access and this change helps to help minimize system data privacy protection risks.

Explore similar guides

Gives more context about the goal of the changes

Review code

Requires technical knowledge about Bash (Shell script)

Edit this page to improve

Requires technical knowledge about YAML and Git
Use with Caution

This script is only recommended if you understand its implications.

Some non-critical or features may no longer function correctly after running this script.

This script can be fully reversed to restore changes if something goes wrong.

Apply Now

Choose one of three ways to apply:

Download script

Download and run the script directly
  • No app needed
  • Offline usage
  • Free
  • Open-source
Help

How to apply or restore "Empty trash on all volumes" using script

  • ≈ 3 min to complete
  • Tools: Web Browser
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • ≈ 5 instructions
  1. 1

    Download

    Download the script file by clicking on the   Apply protection  button above.
    Use   Undo protection button above to restore changes.
  2. 2

    Keep the file

    If warned by your browser, keep the file.
  3. 3

    Open

    Open the downloaded file.
  4. 4

    Exit

    Once it's done, press any key to exit the window.
  5. 5

    Restart

    Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.

Apply with privacy.sexy

Guided, automated application with safety checks
  • Recommended for most users
  • Includes safety checks
  • Free
  • Open-source
  • Popular
  • Offline/Online usage
Open privacy.sexy
Help

How to apply or restore "Empty trash on all volumes" using privacy.sexy

  • ≈ 3 min to complete
  • Tools: privacy.sexy
  • Difficulty: Simple
  • ≈ 4 instructions
privacy.sexy is free and open-source application that lets securely apply this action easily with more advanced options.
  1. 1

    Open or download

    Open or download the desktop application
  2. 2

    Choose script

    1. Search for the script name: Empty trash on all volumes
    2. Check the script by clicking on the checkbox.
  3. 3

    Run

    Click on ▶️ Run button at the bottom of the page.

    This button only appears on desktop version (recommended). On browser, use 💾 Save button.

Run commands

Copy and run commands manually Requires technical knowledge
Apply changes
# on all mounted volumes
sudo rm -rfv /Volumes/*/.Trashes/* &>/dev/null
# on main HDD
sudo rm -rfv ~/.Trash/* &>/dev/null
Help

How to apply or restore "Empty trash on all volumes" using commands

  • ≈ 2 min to complete
  • Tools: Terminal app
  • Difficulty: undefined
  • ≈ 3 instructions
  1. 1

    Open terminal

    Open Terminal app.
  2. 2

    Copy code

  3. 3

    Paste & run

    Paste the code into Terminal and press Enter to run.

    Some changes require a system restart to take effect

Similar Guides

Wider Goal

The guide below includes this guide to achieve a wider goal.See other more general settings that includes this one as one of its actions.
These plans combine multiple privacy settings, including this one, for stronger protection.

About the Creators

These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:

  • Avatar of undergroundwires. The creator of PrivacyLearn and privacy.sexy. Black and white portrait showing a person wearing a polka dot tie and suit jacket, reflecting the professional expertise behind the privacy protection tools.
    • Certified security professional
    • 7+ years experience securing banks
    • Open-source developer since 2005
    • EU advisor, Public Speaker, Moderator
    • Hundreds across the globe
    • Testers, reviewers, developers
    • Companies, military agencies
    • Community since 2017

Reviewed By

This guide has undergone comprehensive auditing and peer review:
  • Expert review by undergroundwires

    • Verified technical accuracy and editorial standards
    • Assessed system impact and user privacy risks
    • Audited and verified using automated security tests
  • Public review by large community

    • Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
    • Millions of end-users tested across different environments
    • Audited and verified using third-party security software

History

We continually monitor our guides, their impact and other potential privacy options. We update our guides when new information becomes available. On every update, we publicly store who made the change, what has been changed, why the change was made and when the change was made.