iOS 17.5 has just been released, and a major bug has been troubling some iPhone users. According to a Reddit thread, people who updated to iOS 17.5 found deleted photos reappearing in their library without explanation.
The creator of this thread explained what happened to them: “Erm, so yeah. Very creepy. Thoroughly freaked out. I just completed the update. When in conversation with my partner, I went to send a picture and saw that the latest pictures were NSFW material we’d made years ago when we were living apart (COVID, etc.). But WTF. It was permanently deleted years ago, but magically, it’s back?? I checked my iPad, and it also has pictures (some artwork I did years ago). I feel so uncomfortable. Anyone else got this issue? I mean, with pictures coming back post update?”
In the thread, some people pointed out that this could have been related to iCloud sync issues on the server. In contrast, others have said that when you delete anything from your iPhone, it’s never permanently deleted, as some part of the data is always available, or Apple could have an “obscure Photo Library corruption issue.”
Whatever the answer, more users have reported this iOS 17.5 bug. On the same thread, a Redditor said, “I have four pics from 2010 that keep reappearing as the latest pics uploaded to iCloud. I have deleted them repeatedly.”
Another user posted: “I had two photos from April 2023 that appeared when I updated. I had a 14pm at that time, 15pm currently, so this is definitely photos still being in iCloud, which is very concerning considering I had deleted them over a year ago.”
At the moment, it’s unclear what’s happening and what’s causing this issue. BGR has contacted Apple about this iOS 17.5 bug. We’ll let you know when we hear more about it or if Cupertino issues an update.