The Photos app uses a SQLite database. Deleting something from the DB *and* the filesystem atomically isn't always easy, hence this bug. Apple really should just refrain from explaining this to the masses and move on, you can't satisfy everyone.
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Apple Sheds More Light on iOS 17.5 Bug That Resurfaced Deleted Photos
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We didn't have the issue because we were holding our iPhones correctly. Those who had the issue were holding it wrong.
In this case, the failure was not in the file system but in the photo library where the flag marking a photo as deleted was not handled properly In some cases. The photos were in limbo, not visible but not really deleted.
It’s over but the FUD, disinformation, and conspiracy theories will continue on MacRumors as is the custom. What do I believe? Apple’s official logical explanation or the rantings of FUD purveyors? Apple of course. Why would i believe anything posted on MacRumors?
I'm not aware of any consumer oriented system which does this. Even in other systems it's turned off by default if they support it at all.
If you do "Erase all content" on an iPhone you will achieve the same goal. All the storage on an iPhone is encrypted and erasing the content throws away the decryption keys, making it practically impossible to get the data.
This is the part that is just simply unacceptable.
As I said earlier, this is mitigation, not a solution.
What is not acceptable is them rushing a solution and then creating 5 more obscure problems.
Whenever a manager or customer tells you that they want a solution now rather than a mitigation, it's usually a projected emotional response designed to manipulate people into complying with you rather than providing a technically competent solution. I'd rather wait. And I'd expect my staff to think the problem through in this circumstance.
One should never rely on user testimony. Use it as a basis for a hypothesis to be tested and write test cases and tests yes, but straight up recall of events is rarely accurate nor representative of a problem.
Once the deleted photo has been restored, how is the operating system supposed to know the difference between it and the other photos on the device? This may be as good as it gets.
The problem is that Apple's ever-growing list of bugs has reduced their credibility when it comes to this one. Being a retired computer developer, I can tell you I had more than 1 whacky bug in my life. I had one showstopper (and I mean showstopper!) in 1988 that still sticks with me till this day.
This used to be true for spinning HDDs, but SSDs work differently. Once a file is deleted, and the TRIM command was sent to the drive controller, recovery is almost impossible. What you suggest is not a good explanation for photos reappearing in the photos database.
You are worried
I am just wondering
How nice of you to always update to the latest iOS version and for sure you purchase a new iPhone yearly
Yes. This issue had nothing to do with the file system. This problem was entirely within the photos app’s photo index and with photos not being fully removed from that. This is analogous to a file system but it is fully within the app code space.
From the OS’s standpoint, these photos were never deleted. They were (partially) delisted from the Photos index.
That's what I figured, and I'm glad Apple clarified, because its an important bug. Still, you can't just assume its a local-only or other sort of (relatively) benign issues - expect the worst until you get clarification.
That said, this could still be an issue for all sorts of reasons, from minor issues like eating up storage space to more serious ones like the fact sensitive information you expect to be deleted could resurface.
That said, this could still be an issue for all sorts of reasons, from minor issues like eating up storage space to more serious ones like the fact sensitive information you expect to be deleted could resurface.
Deleting data with trim does not securely delete the data.
The trim command tells the drive's controller that certain logical sectors of the drive are not being used and that their data MAY be treated as erasable to aid performance.
In normal operation, these sectors may be wiped by a future write operation (or rather, wear-leveling in preparation for future writes). But this is not guaranteed to happen immediately or within a given time frame. With access to the physical drive you may be able to obtain the data from the flash chips before they are erased.
Even overwriting the data does not securely delete it on an SSD, because of wear-leveling and overprovision. You can only securely delete data on an SSD if you use a secure wipe, a function that needs to be supported by the drive and which would erase everything.
Can a deleted file on an SSD with trim enabled be recovered?
I'm just wondering from a security stand point if a deleted file on an SSD with trim enabled can be recovered? I've did some research and it would seem it is impossible unless for some reason trim ...
This issue was not about files being deleted or not in the file system. This was about files being removed from the Photos app index (or not). They could come back by repairing that index.
That isn‘t their claim. Obviously the photos were not properly deleted. All they said was that the data was locally stored, and corrupted data could move from phone to phone when people upgraded.
Do you honestly believe that (1) Apple intentionally introduced this bug into iOS, and (2) the motivation for doing so was to "sell more storage"?
If such was the goal, then the "bug" would have been designed to impact a large number of users and a large number of photos. Instead, "the issue affected a small number of users and a small number of photos."
With Apple, it’s always reportedly a small issue for a small number of people… even if it’s many many many many many many people.