When iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 appeared for iPhone and iPad, something special was going on. Deleted photos appeared spontaneously back in the photo library, even if they were deleted years ago. This caused quite a stir, did Apple secretly store the deleted photos in iCloud?
In iOS 17.5.1 and iPadOS 17.5.1, Apple fixed this problem and initially the company did not provide an explanation. After 9to5Mac’s insistence, the company now has a few additional details confirmed to the American website to further clarify the situation.
Photo issue in iOS 17.5
Due to a bug in the software, deleted photos spontaneously reappeared in the user’s photo library. These weren’t the photos you recently deleted, but photos that were deleted years ago. Users who had this happen to them immediately started asking questions about their privacy: Does Apple store secretly deleted photos in iCloud?
No iCloud Photos
At the insistence of 9to5Mac, Apple has responded to the fuss. The company reports on the website that it is here not This concerns photos stored in iCloud. Due to a rare bug, photos were reappearing in the photo library due to a corrupted database.
Due to a corrupt database, the photos had not been completely deleted at the time. By restoring backups, this damaged file remained in the database on the iPhone or iPad. Due to the bug in 17.5, these appeared again, even though users had deleted the photo. This has been resolved with iOS/iPadOS 17.5.1.
What about devices sold?
Users who use their iPad or Sold iPhone was concerned about this bug. Do deleted photos now also appear on their resold device? Apple indicates that this is not the case, at least if you have completely restored the iPhone or iPad to factory settings before selling it. Then all local databases will be completely deleted and recreated.
Check photo library
It is advisable to update to iOS 17.5.1 as soon as possible, because the problem has been resolved. In addition, it’s good to know that old photos that returned unintentionally in iOS 17.5 will not be automatically deleted in the new iOS update. If any photos deleted by the bug have been restored to your photo library, you will have to manually delete these images again. According to Apple, the chance that you have been affected by this problem is small because they believe these were rare cases.