Last week, many iPhone users posted on Reddit that old and long-deleted photos, even some sensitive ones, were suddenly returning to their devices. Apple fixed the problem with the iOS 17.5.1 update released earlier this week. Now it has explained why.
The problem was caused by a corrupt database entry
In a statement first shared to 9to5Mac, Apple shared that the issue was caused by a corrupt database entry stored locally on the specific iPhone device. The company says the bug does not involve iCloud Photos. Apple states that the affected photos are not stored on the cloud and none of these photos are synced to iCloud Photos in any way.
According to Apple, some users have been able to see deleted photos dating back to 2010 from an older iPhone after upgrading to the latest iPhone. According to Apple, this is possible in cases where the new iPhone was restored using a local or iCloud backup of the old iPhone or a device-to-device transfer.
For users who have sold their previous device, Apple says that these photos will not come back if you make sure the old iPhone has been completely wiped and reset and then returned to the new owner.
The latest iOS update has fixed this bug and will not recur in the future. However, the update does not erase previously deleted and restored photos again. Users who find old deleted photos on their phones will need to find them in the Photos app and delete them again.
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