Last week, Apple released iOS 17.5, which brought an unexpected issue: deleted photos on iPhones and iPads were reappearing. This included sensitive images like nude photos, causing significant concern among users. Although Apple has not commented publicly, the company swiftly released iOS and iPadOS 17.5.1 updates on Monday afternoon to address the problem.
The unexpected reappearance of deleted photos
Users reported that previously deleted photos were reappearing in their “recent” photos, with some of these images being particularly private. One user mentioned that such photos even showed up on an iPad that had been erased and sold to someone else, raising privacy and security concerns.
According to Apple’s update notes, “This update 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.” This suggests that the reappearing photos were due to a corruption in the photo database, which caused the system to display images that were meant to be permanently deleted.
The urgency of the update
Users are advised to install the iOS 17.5.1 update as soon as possible to avoid the risk of deleted photos reappearing. However, it remains unclear how widespread the issue is, which images are at risk of reappearing, or what actions can be taken for devices that are no longer under the original user’s control.
Apple’s swift action in releasing the 17.5.1 update highlights the severity of the bug and its potential privacy implications for affected users. While the update is a crucial fix, users are left with lingering questions about the extent of the problem and whether any additional measures are needed to protect their privacy.
In the meantime, users should prioritise updating their devices to iOS 17.5.1 to ensure their deleted photos remain permanently removed.
