It’s been a few days since Apple announced macOS Monterey, and we continue to dig through new features that weren’t mentioned during the WWDC keynote, including a much more convenient way of erasing a Mac.
Following in the footsteps of the iPhone and iPad, the Mac has gained an “Erase All Content and Settings” option on macOS Monterey. The option allows you to erase all user data and user-installed apps from your Mac without needing to reinstall the macOS operating system, making it far easier to restore a Mac to like-new factory settings.
From the macOS Monterey features page on Apple’s website:
Erase all contents and settings
System Preferences now offers an option to erase all user data and user-installed apps from the system, while maintaining the operating system currently installed. Because storage is always encrypted on Mac systems with Apple silicon or the T2 chip, the system is instantly and securely “erased” by destroying the encryption keys.
Read more at MacRumors.com