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But that is also how backups work, it copies everything and then restores everything, it didn't have much bigger issues.

Edit: I should add one point here and with this bug, the files were not fully marked for deletion which is most likely why they got backed up.
That is exactly the issue - the files can persist in the filesystem at some level below the Photos database and we may never know it. That might explain why deleting photos doesn't always free up storage.
 
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Well, I'm glad my phone got to ran iOS 17.5 briefly so that if I had any orphaned files they would be recovered.

I VASTLY prefer a previously deleted photo to come back over the possibility of losing photos.

Maybe instead this feature could pop up a dialog, "These corrupted/orphaned photos were found on your device and have been recovered. Do you wish to import them?" that shows the photos in question. Then let the user decide.
 
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Be skeptical of everything. Reddit user that reported deleted photo appearing on a reset and resold device deleted their comment. We’ve gotten more details out of apple than we have the people claiming photos are re-appearing. I’ve seen people put in IT tickets because they unplug their PC before a storm and now it wont turn on. Don’t think I’m not skeptical of apple too, but just not seeing anything nefarious on this one. Someone found a bug, Apple took time to investigate and patch.
 
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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.
I'd like Apple to say that they have a way to purge the photos database of the deleted photos. What else wasn't deleted but is only hidden?
 
If you’re into conspiracy theories, then no. Otherwise - you now know pretty much all you need to know.
No, we don’t know all we need to know. In particular, Apple hasn’t stated whether they consider photos persisting after deletion a bug, and have fixed that, or only the resurfacing of such persisted photos.

We also don’t know whether such persisted photos for which the undeletion hasn’t been triggered yet continue to be present in the corrupted database, or whether all such corruption has been fixed and all deleted photos have now truly been deleted by the update.
 
I'd like Apple to say that they have a way to purge the photos database of the deleted photos. What else wasn't deleted but is only hidden?
How to tell us you don't understand the bug without telling us you don't understand the bug.
 
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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)
No way. If the link was removed, even the OS would not be able to see the file. You would need special recovery tools to scan the storage to find the blocks with data and try to restore tzhe files. How could a software bug restores those files?
 
No, we don’t know all we need to know. In particular, Apple hasn’t stated whether they consider photos persisting after deletion a bug, and have fixed that, or only the resurfacing of such persisted photos.

We also don’t know whether such persisted photos for which the undeletion hasn’t been triggered yet continue to be present in the corrupted database, or whether all such corruption has been fixed and all deleted photos now truly deleted by the update.
Let me see if I can find some more hairs for you to split.
 
No way. If the link was removed, even the OS would not be able to see the file. You would need special recovery tools to scan the storage to find the blocks with data and try to restore tzhe files. How could a software bug restores those files?
And there is the bug, the pointer didn't fully get removed from the database.
 
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The issue was with local storage. Why would having more of it help?

This bug inflates the amount of storage used on the iPhone.

Deleted photos were not being deleted. Most users simply transfer backups from one phone to another and have been doing so for years.

This helps Apple sell more storage.
 
Well that IS surprising. A whole bunch of people jumped the gun without understanding the underlying issue. That's rare to see that happen these days.
 
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It is obvious more explanation is needed, as well as more transparency on iPhone/iPad file systems with where each file is stored, cache management and cleaning (Apple’s automated cleaning does not work and had never worked).

Right now Photos app looks like one single mess, unusable mess, the worst app on iOS. Years ago they introduced same app for Mac and guess what? I never use it! Unless for fast editing the shot. I even still import my photos with Image Capture app. Preview is more than enough to look thru the photos.

For sure I can do same stuff with Apple files but it seems to me the app is still very slow and bugged. If there was an option where I want to save photos – in specific folder in Files or in Photos, I would definitely chose the first option. I am really tired of their useless updates and having to explain to each of my relatives that “they changed something again”.

Pls, don’t write me “why don’t you switch to Android?”. C’mon, what is the point of switching from one “Android wannabe” to “Android OG”? Especially considering how flawed Google OS is in terms of general performance and applications cohesiveness
 
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Here’s what happened:


OG analysis:

Thanks for that info. It is concerning, because it means the photos were in non-deleted files on the file system, and likely still are, and such “deleted” photos will continue to be transferred through backups and device migrations indefinitely.
 
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I wonder how many phones were traded in where the user wiped the phone (e.g., erase all content and settings) prior to trading it in or selling it, that now have this problem?

None, as others also said.

Everything is present on the disk until something else overwrites it this is how storage works.

Not really. When files are encrypted, they stop being present as soon as the key is erased.

I have many photos on the cloud, which wasn't a problem before this update. It didn't affect me.

It didn’t affect most other people in fact :)

This bug inflates the amount of storage used on the iPhone.

Deleted photos were not being deleted. Most users simply transfer backups from one phone to another and have been doing so for years.

This helps Apple sell more storage.

This is conspiracy theory drivel. This was a rare bug that affected few users, few photos.

It is obvious more explanation is needed

Evidently it’s subjective how obvious that is :p
 
...



Not really. When files are encrypted, they stop being present as soon as the key is erased.


....
You can still restore files from a system even after they are deleted from the file system table. The only time you can't in modern times is if you change the hardware encryption keys. And this is the root of this bug the rows were not fully deleted from the database so the files persisted.
 
The whole deleted files and restore doesn't really mesh with me as surely backup size would be absolutely huge?
 
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