Apple has released iOS 17.5.1 for iPhone. The software update specifically addresses the issue with deleted photos reportedly returning after updating to iOS 17.5.
While the bug is certainly alarming, it’s important to note that Apple does not access your photos or videos. The issue resulted from a small number of photos being impacted by a corrupted database entry, making it possible for the photo to not fully delete from the device, Apple says.
Apple says update fixes issue
Apple directly acknowledges the deleted photo problem that we reported last week in the release notes:
This update provides important bug fixes and addresses a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted.
No, Apple isn’t secretly keeping deleted photos
While some have asked if this means Apple keeps our deleted photos, the explanation for what actually happened is suggested in the release notes. Apple is clearly embarrassed by the bug as it doesn’t meet their mark for privacy. However, the behavior wasn’t by design.
Instead, Apple appears to be describing the fix as repairing the database handling mechanisms, ensuring that the photo library records of deletions are accurate to prevent previously deleted photos from resurfacing.
The way photo deletion is designed to work is as follows: photos are deleted by the user, moved to the Recently Deleted album, and actually deleted 30 days later. Photos can be manually and permanently erased before 30 days are up by deleting images from the Recently Deleted album.
What actually happened
So if Apple isn’t secretly keeping your deleted photos, how could this have happened? First, the bug occurred on-device and had no involvement with iCloud. Next is how file deletion generally works behind the scenes.
Top comment by BigGongZillaSkrillex
It's a bug related to the Files App. Relax everyone.
Now how are the deleted photos “reappearing” after being deleted? This is because almost every case of this incident happening which Apple has investigated has been caused by the photo(s) being deleted from the “Photos” app but NOT the “Files” app. They are two separate apps with two copies of the photos.
When you download, share/receive, or take a screenshot (Mainly Safari screenshots) on your iPhone it sometimes (Depending on different factors) saved to both the “Files” and “Photos” app.
Now when you go to delete said photos from the “Photos” app a identical copy of it is still present within the “Files” app, this makes it appear as it is deleted from the “Photos” app.
But due to a rare bug within iOS 17.5 the system attempts to re-save all photos/media/files from the “Files” app into the “Photos” app, this happens during the re-indexing process which happens when you update your iPhone. Since the “Photos” app can’t display files but it can display media/photos, it appears as your “deleted” photos have reappeared ALTHOUGH they have been on your iPhone the whole time in the “Files” app.
And as for the photos reappearing after a factory reset of the device, Apple has not investigated ANY CASES OF THIS. It is a myth, your Apple devices are secure.
Files on NAND storage aren’t truly deleted when you issue a delete command; instead, the space they occupy is marked as available for future use. The actual data remains intact until new data is written over it, which is why specialized software can often recover “deleted” files.
Still, that shouldn’t result in a deleted photo reappearing in the Photos library. In this case, Apple points to a rare issue caused by a corrupt database that resulted in some photos not being fully deleted as expected. However, the issue was never widespread and is addressed in iOS 17.5.1.
First bug fix for iOS 17.5
The update comes one week after iOS 17.5 first became available. iOS 17.5 includes new games for News+ subscribers, the 2024 Pride wallpaper, cross-platform tracking detection, and more changes for Digital Markets Act compliance in the EU.
iOS 17.5.1 is available as an over-the-air update now. Grab it from the Settings app under General > Software Update.
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