It seems that Apple has a problem that is retrieving data that users of iPhones believed to be lost. According to a Reddit post that MacRumors discovered, some iPhone users are complaining that after upgrading to iOS 17.5, their deleted photos—some of which are rather old—are appearing again. Last week, iOS beta testers voiced similar concerns over the glitch.
Following Monday's upgrade, users who are reporting the apparent glitch claim to be seeing old photographs show up in their Recents album. Although iOS allows users to recover deleted images, the files are meant to be completely erased after 30 days.
The thread's original poster said that explicit images they had removed off their phone "years ago" had reappeared. Another Reddit user said that while they did not believe they had ever erased the photographs, they saw that pictures from 2016 were appearing as fresh ones. Additionally, someone said in a subsequent post that "around 300" of their old photos—some of which were "revealing"—turned up on an iPad they had sold to a friend after wiping it in accordance with Apple policy.
This may not be as bad as it seems. Operating systems just remove references to computer data; it is never really "deleted" until it is replaced with fresh 1s and 0s. Another user suggested that the images may have come from on-device storage as they saw a picture returning even though they do not use iCloud or phone syncing. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from The Verge right away.
It is possible that it applies to more than just photographs since someone reported on X that they saw previous voicemails reappearing following the upgrade. Regarding the previous iOS 17 betas, a number of beta testers made similar comments. It is not ideal, whether the problem stems from Apple surreptitiously retaining deleted data or is just a glitch in how iOS 17.5 manages that data. Nobody desires the return of their erased naked photos.
Following Monday's upgrade, users who are reporting the apparent glitch claim to be seeing old photographs show up in their Recents album. Although iOS allows users to recover deleted images, the files are meant to be completely erased after 30 days.
The thread's original poster said that explicit images they had removed off their phone "years ago" had reappeared. Another Reddit user said that while they did not believe they had ever erased the photographs, they saw that pictures from 2016 were appearing as fresh ones. Additionally, someone said in a subsequent post that "around 300" of their old photos—some of which were "revealing"—turned up on an iPad they had sold to a friend after wiping it in accordance with Apple policy.
This may not be as bad as it seems. Operating systems just remove references to computer data; it is never really "deleted" until it is replaced with fresh 1s and 0s. Another user suggested that the images may have come from on-device storage as they saw a picture returning even though they do not use iCloud or phone syncing. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from The Verge right away.
It is possible that it applies to more than just photographs since someone reported on X that they saw previous voicemails reappearing following the upgrade. Regarding the previous iOS 17 betas, a number of beta testers made similar comments. It is not ideal, whether the problem stems from Apple surreptitiously retaining deleted data or is just a glitch in how iOS 17.5 manages that data. Nobody desires the return of their erased naked photos.
