Apple Sheds More Light on iOS 17.5 Bug That Resurfaced Deleted Photos

[MacRumors]

Last week, some iPhone users reported that Apple's iOS 17.5 update had introduced a bug that caused old photos that were deleted to reappear in the Photos app. Apple quickly released an iOS 17.5.1 update to fix the issue, but for many users, its explanation of "database corruption" in the release notes was all too brief, and did little to allay concerns about the privacy of their data.

Apple has now offered more details on the problem and what caused it. Speaking to 9to5Mac, Apple reportedly said the issue had nothing to do with iCloud Photos, and the company never had access to the deleted photos. Rather, a corrupted database entry on affected devices was the cause of deleted photos reappearing. In other words, the deleted images that were restored resided locally and never left those devices.

Apple said that in some rare cases iOS 17.5 had inadvertently restored files from the corrupted data and repopulated the Photos app with the deleted images. Apple claimed the issue affected a small number of users and a small number of photos.

To explain reports that some restored photos were very old, Apple said that in some cases the corrupted data may have been copied from one device to another when restoring a local backup, performing a device-to-device transfer, or restoring an iCloud device backup (i.e. not involving iCloud Photos).

One claim that was posted on Reddit, which has since been deleted, alleged that the user's photos reappeared on an iPad that had been erased and sold to a friend. Apple said that this could not have been the case if the user had wiped the device prior to sale using the Erase All Content and Settings option found in Settings ➝ General ➝ Transfer or Reset. Either the user had not performed this necessary step, or the claim was false.

Notably, Apple's iOS 17.5.1 update to rectify the issue does not remove any previously deleted photos that reappeared after updating to iOS 17.5. Affected users will therefore need to manually delete these images again, and they will be moved to the Recently Deleted album in the Photos app, where they will remain for 30 days. Recently deleted photos in this folder can also be immediately deleted by choosing Delete from All Devices.

Article Link: Apple Sheds More Light on iOS 17.5 Bug That Resurfaced Deleted Photos

 

[gpat]

Really not a satisfactory response from Apple's side. I guess we'll never know the whole truth.

I don't even have any photos on iCloud, so not concerned, but this is just a paper thin excuse.

 

[EmotionalSnow]

Really not a satisfactory response from Apple's side. I guess we'll never know the whole truth.

Huh? What else do you want them to say?

This is all there is to the story. I know because somebody on Twitter posted the actual code change made with the update fixing this bug.

 

[winxmac]

Huh? What else do you want them to say?

This is all there is to the story. I know because somebody on Twitter posted the actual code change made with the update fixing this bug.

Care to share?

Will I experience the same if I upgrade from iOS 16.7 to iOS 17.5

I never deleted photos but I just perform a remote wipe by logging in to iCloud.com and then set the device as new...

This is the first time as far as I can recall of being an iOS user since May 2016 [iOS 9.3.1] that this happened...

 

[saudor]

Sounds a lot like deleting files on a typical file system where only the pointer is removed (so you can't see it) but the actual file is still physically on the disk (until overwritten)

 

[vegetassj4]

Great, there goes the “Honey, that’s not my mistress, that’s a bug in the iPhone Photos“ excuse.

 

[madmin]

Phew, I can give my mother my old iPad now

 

[dz5b609]

Really not a satisfactory response from Apple's side. I guess we'll never know the whole truth.

If you know anything about data and data deletion then what Apple said is a clear enough answer as to what happened. If you think deleting a file means it's gone from your storage (on any kind of device) then yeah nothing will be satisfactory.

 

[adrianjagielak]

Care to share?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1793205370900693330

 

[DarthDon]

What about people who got our phones after we traded it in with Apple? Would they see our old pictures if the new owner updated to that version?

Just when his WLan-Cable is broken 🤣.

 

[CyclingHermit]

The explanation is not very detailed, but it makes sense. The hint about icloud backups triggering this actually helps to understand the situation better - the photos were still files on the device, so backup up by icloud or by device-to-device transfer, just not "indexed" by the photos app.

 

[peneaux]

Took them a week to respond which is a lot of time to clarify such bug.

 

[GuyDouche]

A damage controlled response. Never even offering a sincere apology.
“Apple claimed the issue affected a small number of user”
With Apple being Apple, it’s always “a small number of users”.
I don’t believe they’re stating the entire truth. Similar to them throttling the battery during the iPhone 6(s) era.

 

[i'm the mac daddy]

If you know anything about data and data deletion then what Apple said is a clear enough answer as to what happened. If you think deleting a file means it's gone from your storage (on any kind of device) then yeah nothing will be satisfactory.

They did not say how they fixed this. Are they deleting corrupted files? Is there some kind of garbage collection periodically delete files with no reference? Will iCloud backups only copy files that are known to the file system?

How do we know this will not happen again? I agree with some posters there needs to be more information beyond what Apple said. Their whole cost proposition is that they are a security and privacy first company. This was a bad thing to happen and we need to know how Apple is fixing it and that we can trust them. If something like this happens again. People should be outraged this ever happened in the first place. What other dodgy code practices are being used? Will deleted iCloud messages appear some day? Deleted emails? Deleted app data?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Took them a week to respond which is a lot of time to clarify such bug.

You have to investigate stuff like this before putting out a response.

 

[truthsteve]

yep. I knew it. never believed those people for one second where they claimed had other people's pictures.

 

[Motorola68000]

Huh? What else do you want them to say?

This is all there is to the story. I know because somebody on Twitter posted the actual code change made with the update fixing this bug.

Agree. Not such a big deal. Much worse if it had been deleting existing photos.

 

[aevan]

Really not a satisfactory response from Apple's side. I guess we'll never know the whole truth.

If you’re into conspiracy theories, then no. Otherwise - you now know pretty much all you need to know.

 

[spazzcat]

Really not a satisfactory response from Apple's side. I guess we'll never know the whole truth.

Just admit there is nothing they can say that would please you on the issue.

 

[spazzcat]

Sounds a lot like deleting files on a typical file system where only the pointer is removed (so you can't see it) but the actual file is still physically on the disk (until overwritten)

I agree this is how it has always worked on computers with storage.

 

[Bigkool2inSC]

I believe them.
Software will always do random stuff.
If every developer was writing every code perfectly, we wouldn't need support to troubleshoot..

I jokingly tell developers i work with...

"I'm glad your dumb, cause if you were smart, i wouldn't have a job."

 

[spazzcat]

A damage controlled response. Never even offering a sincere apology.
“Apple claimed the issue affected a small number of user”
With Apple being Apple, it’s always “a small number of users”.
I don’t believe they’re stating the entire truth. Similar to them throttling the battery during the iPhone 6(s) era.

Bugs happen they fixed the bug in less than a week and even gave extra details which they are not required to do, time to move on.

 

[Pezimak]

Sorry don't buy it. If the data is marked as deleted it can be overwritten and their claim that very old photos, some a few years from what I heard, are not over written over time doesn't sound plausible to me. I still think cloud services are involved but they'll never tell you if they were.

 

[incidentallycheckout]

I was calling out Apple for being quiet on the issue but this response is enough. I believe the explanation and don't need anything further.

To those asking for more, what else do you want?

 

[ApostolisApo]

A lot of speculation here from people who are not developers... Such bugs happen from time to time.
The important thing is that there is no iCloud bug.
The embarrassing thing is that still you may draw a Joker card when showing your assumedly safe photo album to your relatives
The explanation is quite satisfactory. If anything is false, any security researcher is welcome to prove it.