Various aspects of the subject technology relate to methods, systems, and machine-readable media for selective erase of persistent and non-volatile memory (NVM) devices. The method includes receiving a notification of a deleted block, the deleted block including sensitive data located in a memory block of an NVM device. The method also includes marking an address of the deleted block as read protected to prevent reading of the deleted block. The method also includes assigning a criticality ranking and a wear out level to the deleted block. The method also includes prioritizing write commands to the deleted block based on the criticality ranking and the wear out level of the deleted block. The method also includes overwriting the deleted block with zeroes or a specific pattern to permanently erase the sensitive data.