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 owners are complaining that after updating 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 stated that explicit images they had removed off their phone “years ago” had reappeared. Another Reddit user said that although they didn’t think they had ever erased the photographs, they saw that pictures from 2016 were appearing as new ones. In a subsequent post, the same individual stated that “around 300” of their old photos—some of which were deemed “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 truly “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 noticed a photo returning even though they don’t use iCloud or phone syncing. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from The Verge right away.
It’s possible that it applies to more than just photographs because someone reported on X that they noticed previous voicemails reappearing following the upgrade. Regarding the previous iOS 17 betas, a number of beta testers made similar comments. It’s not ideal, whether the problem stems from Apple surreptitiously retaining deleted data or is merely a glitch in how iOS 17.5 manages that data. Nobody desires the return of their erased naked photos.
About IOS 17.5 Update
- Users in the EU can now install apps straight from websites
- New Pride wallpaper
- Apple News+ introduces a new game and offline mode
- iOS 17.5 introduces a repair state option, allowing iPhones to be sent in for servicing without disabling Find My iPhone or Activation Lock.