Reports have recently surfaced from iOS owners claiming that their device is bringing back old deleted content out of nowhere after updating to iOS 17.5. a Reddit user on the iOS subreddit said they saw photos from 2021 reappear even though the images had been “permanently deleted.”
The same happened with A former iPad owner who sold the tablet to a friend who then called them after vacation photos from September 2024 came back.
And it’s not just first-party software that’s affected. User ssmithdev on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) posted an image of their iPhone
People are understandably panicking. You see comments in Reddit posts from users experiencing the same thing: old deleted photos from 2010 coming back. What’s worse is that some of the content at the heart of this problem is highly sensitive.
New bug, old problem
At the time of writing, this problem does not appear to be widespread. Reports are currently only from social media platforms. However, if it affects a lot of people, Apple will definitely have to find a solution for it.
No one knows exactly why this is happening, but iPhone owners are pointing the finger at iOS 17.5. Each of these reports mentions that the deleted images reappear after installing the latest update. It’s also worth mentioning that this bug has been known for a while. On the iOSBeta subreddit you will find to inform from testers saying the same thing: previously deleted content returns without direct input. This issue goes back as far as nine monthsso it’s not a new problem.
Theory development
Likewise, no one knows exactly how this happens, although there are theories.
The edge states that the returning files could be coming from an iPhone’s on-device storage. They mention that ‘computer data is never actually deleted’. Also, (operating systems) simply ‘cut off’ references to them, allowing them to persist in a dark corner of your phone. iPhones may be keeping these files hidden and this bug is causing them to resurface.
Other people think there is an “obscure problem with photo library corruption. MacRumors believes this is the result of Apple’s attempt to fix a photo syncing bug in iOS 17.3. But instead of patching it properly, the company simply created another problem. A few think it is less serious and blame improper disposal. Maybe these users didn’t completely wipe their devices clean and iCloud brought everything back.
There is a lot of speculation, but unfortunately no one has an official answer. We’ve reached out to Apple to ask if they are aware of this issue and would like to comment on it. As of this writing, they have not responded, but we will update this story if we hear back.
While we’ve got you, check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best photo saving and sharing sites of 2024.