Apple's latest iOS 17.5 update has reportedly introduced a concerning bug that causes old, deleted photos to reappear in users' photo libraries. Many users have taken to Reddit to share their experiences with this unexpected glitch.
Old Photos Are Resurfacing on iCloud Library
iPhone owners delete photos for some reason. Some users want to free up a huge chunk of space for their existing folders while others want to remove them because they are too confidential. Regardless of their sizes, the deleted images will end up in a trash folder where they will stay for some days after they permanently get flushed out.
As MacRumors spotted on Reddit, one user complained that the old NSFW (not safe for work) photos which were deleted in 2021, surprisingly resurfaced on the iCloud. This occurred after the Redditor updated to iOS 17.5
It appears that this particular user is not the only one who was experiencing the annoying problem.
"Same thing happened to me. Six photos from different times, all I have deleted. Some I had deleted in 2023," another user replied.
Overnight, the complaints about this iOS 17.5 bug kept on piling up. Another person wrote that he had a random photo he took from a concert using his Canon camera. He was astonished when it showed up in the phone library as if it had been added today.
What Could Have Triggered This Bug
The exact cause of this issue remains unclear. Given that some photos were taken years ago, it is unlikely to be related to recently deleted photos being undeleted.
In Apple's Photos app, deleted photos and videos are stored in the Recently Deleted album for 30 days, allowing users to recover or permanently remove them.
Several theories have been proposed to explain the bug. It could be due to an indexing error, photo library corruption, or a syncing issue between local devices and iCloud Photos.
Another possibility is that Apple's attempt to fix a photo syncing bug in iOS 17.3 inadvertently created a new syncing issue involving iCloud backups. Some users running iOS 17.5 developer beta 4 had reported similar experiences.
What's Next For This iOS 17.5 Glitch
As more users come forward with their stories, it is evident that this is a widespread problem that Apple needs to address. The company has yet to release an official statement or fix for the issue. Users are advised to keep an eye on updates from Apple for a potential solution.
In the meantime, if you encounter this bug, consider reporting it through Apple's feedback system to help expedite a resolution.
In other news, Forbes reports that Apple rolled out several bug fixes for the iPhone as part of the iOS 17.5 update. Some of the flaws that were addressed were the kernel flaw and the iOS 16.7.8 exploit.
