Apple has previously acknowledged incidents wherein iTunes deleted files stored in the computers of users without permission. Apple added that it was taking the reports seriously, and that it will be releasing an update for iTunes that will include possible fixes to prevent the issue from happening again.
Blogger and freelance composer James Pinkstone first detailed on a blog post how he lost 122 GB worth of his own music from his personal iTunes library as he was using Apple Music.
It looks like it is true that Apple is taking the issue seriously, as a new blog post by Pinkstone revealed that two of the company's senior software engineers visited his house in an attempt to understand the bug that deleted the files.
The Apple engineers, who flew from the company's home base in California to Atlanta, Georgia, were known only as Tom and Ezra. They asked Pinkstone to reactivate his account on Apple Music and go through the iTunes track sync process, which uploads unmatched content into the iCloud so that users can access them through streaming.
A special version of iTunes was used throughout, with the software able to track any problem in the code of iTunes. All the while, Tom and Ezra were talking to a team back in California regarding the next steps and options they could take in sniffing out the problem.
The pair then left but told Pinkstone to use iTunes normally. Tom returned to retrieve the data logs recorded by iTunes, but it is unclear whether the company has found the root cause of the problem, along with a definite solution.
Apple has now released the iTunes 12.4 update, and while most of the attention has been going to the user interface changes that the update introduced, iTunes 12.4 could possibly also contain the safeguards Apple promised against the problem.
Nevertheless, sending two employees flying cross country to take a look at Pinkstone's account is a great move by Apple, and not one that all companies would do for users experiencing technical problems.
