PrivacySweep
Overwrites files with random data, removes them, and records what it destroyed.
Free right now. No account, no card
Preview
1 interface design, then a screenshot of it running. Drag, scroll or use the arrows.
Free while we’re in preview
Get PrivacySweep
Overwrites files with random data, removes them, and records what it destroyed.
The Mac button is for Apple Silicon. On an older Intel Mac, get this one instead.
One file, both ways. Double-click it for the window. Run the same file from a command prompt with arguments and it behaves as the command-line tool, because the engine is inside it. Nothing else to download and nothing to keep beside it.
Early preview. The window has been built and run, but not yet on a real Windows PC or Mac, so expect rough edges. The engine underneath it is fully tested.
- One file, no installer
- Runs on your machine, offline
- Source code published below
Free while in preview. It isn’t signed yet, so Windows or macOS will ask you to confirm the first time you open it. here is exactly what to click. At launch, PrivacySweep is included in every plan along with the rest of the range.
This is not a recycle bin
privacysweep shred destroys files. There is no quarantine mode and no undo, and that is the point of a secure-delete tool rather than a gap in it. Give it a directory and it walks the entire tree beneath it. Test your arguments on a throwaway folder first so you know precisely what they select.
Without --apply it’s a dry run: every file it would take is hashed and listed and nothing on disk is touched. That listing is the check worth making every single time.
What --apply does
Each file is overwritten with random data for --passes rounds, three by default, with an fsync after each round, and is then removed. Afterwards you get a JSON proof-of-erasure record per file: the path, the size, the SHA-256 of the content as it stood before erasure, the pass count, and a UTC timestamp. --report FILE writes that out; otherwise it goes to stdout.
Worth being straight about one thing no userspace tool can solve: overwriting acts on the file as the filesystem presents it. Copies elsewhere, older versions in a backup, and blocks an SSD has already retired internally are beyond its reach.
Browser and app cache cleanup and the encrypted vault are roadmap. This build is the shredder and the report.
Questions about PrivacySweep
What does PrivacySweep do?
PrivacySweep writes random data over a file several times and then removes it, so what was in it cannot be recovered from the disk by anybody — not by you, not by a recovery program, not by whoever buys the machine next. It writes a record of exactly what it destroyed, which you can keep as proof. This is not the recycle bin and there is no undo: once PrivacySweep has finished with a file, that file is gone for good.
Will PrivacySweep delete my files?
Yes, and that is the whole point of it. PrivacySweep removes files in a way that cannot be undone afterwards, not by you, not by a recovery program, not by whoever owns the machine next. It never does that by accident: it shows you the full list of what it would destroy and does nothing at all until you explicitly tell it to go ahead.
Does PrivacySweep send anything over the internet?
No. There is no network code compiled into PrivacySweep at all, nothing in the binary can open a socket. 88 of the 100 programs here are like that.
Does PrivacySweep run on a Mac?
Yes. There are builds for Apple Silicon and for Intel Macs, as well as for Windows and Linux, one file each, with no installer and nothing to uninstall.
Is PrivacySweep free?
Yes, while Techlosoft is in preview: no account, no card, and nothing switched off. Later it is part of a plan covering all 100 programs rather than sold on its own, and anything you download now carries on working.
Reading on the job itself
- How to securely delete files (and when not to bother) On a spinning hard disk, overwrite the file and it is gone. On an SSD you cannot reliably overwrite anythin...
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Advanced & technical details Command-line builds, source code, checksums and a recorded session, for developers and IT teams
A working CLI prototype of the core engine: secure multi-pass random-overwrite deletion with a JSON proof-of-erasure report. Browser/app trace cleanup and the encrypted vault are still on the roadmap.
Naming status
Working name only — brand verdict **RENAME** (High). Collision: Privacy Sweep. Use a more distinctive coined mark.
What it draws on
Existing paid software whose best ideas shaped this program: O&O SafeErase, east-tec Eraser, Folder Lock, CCleaner Professional.
Command line
There is nothing extra to install. The program you download is the command-line tool as well: give it arguments instead of double-clicking it and it runs as one, with its output on your terminal. The standalone builds below are the same engine on its own, for machines where you would rather not ship a window at all.
PrivacySweep — secure file deletion with a proof-of-erasure report
Usage:
privacysweep shred <path> [<path> ...] [--passes N] [--apply] [--report FILE]
Without --apply this is a dry run: nothing is touched, only listed.
With --apply, matched files are overwritten with random data for
--passes rounds (default 3), fsync'd each round, then removed.
This cannot be undone — there is no quarantine mode for shred.Recorded from the shipped binary, not written by hand.
Source
Every file the program is built from:
console.go · console_test.go · guided.go · main.go
SHA-256 checksums · build instructions & scope notes · full build plan