Deleted iPhone photos reappear; 'rare issue', says Apple, releases iOS 17.5.1

After Apple iPhone users updated iOS 17.5 software on May 13, many of them complained that their deleted photos on the phone resurfaced. Now, Apple has provided an update on why it happened and has also fixed the issue.

Apple has now asked iPhone users to update to iOS 17.5.1 to resolve the issue of deleted photos reappearing.

On its support page, Apple said it was a “rare issue” that happened due to “database corruption”.

“This update (iOS 17.5.1) provides important bug fixes and addresses a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted,” Apple said in a statement.

Some of the users had complained online that photos that had been deleted as far back as 14 years ago resurfaced after updating iOS 17.5.

What researchers said

Security researchers at Synactiv said the deleted photos resurfaced because a migration routine was added in iOS 17.5.

“Based on this code, we can say that the photos that reappeared were still lying around on the filesystem and that they were just found by the migration routine added in iOS 17.5. The reason why those files were there in the first place is unknown,” an article on Synactiv said.

“The 17.5.1 update removed the scanning of the filesystem that was added in 17.5 to prevent deleted photos stored outside of the photo library to re-appear. According to our analysis, no code was added to purge the imported photos from the library as well as the ‘deleted’ pictures lying on the filesystem,” it added.

Based only on this analysis, it is not possible to conclude how the photos remained on the filesystem in the first place

What iOS 17.5 update was

Apple said, “This update introduces a new Pride Radiance wallpaper for the Lock Screen, Apple News enhancements, and other features, bug fixes and security updates for your iPhone.”

Apple News

Offline mode in Apple News+ gives you access to the Today feed and News+ tab, even when you don’t have an internet connection

Tracking Notifications

Cross-platform tracking Detection delivers notifications to users if a compatible Bluetooth tracker they do not own is moving with them, regardless of what operating system the device is paired with

“Some features may not be available in all regions or on all Apple devices,” the company said.