iOS 17.5, the latest version of Apple’s operating system, is the victim of a new bug. According to several testimonials from impacted users, photos that had been deleted for several years suddenly returned to their Photo gallery.
Apple launched the first public beta of iOS 17.5 in early April 2024. As you might expect, this new version of the operating system includes many improvements and new features. For example, it is now possible to download an application from a website, and not exclusively from the App Store.
iOS 17.5 also introduced a feature to detect suspicious Bluetooth trackers, Airtag or not. We also mentioned in our columns the arrival of “Ready for repair” mode. The principle is simple, this tool allows you to keep certain security activated, such as location for example, when your iPhone is sent for maintenance.
iOS 17.5 brings back photos deleted for years
But inevitably, this new version of iOS arrived with its share of bugs and more or less annoying problems. According to testimonials from several users, the latest version of the iOS 17.5 beta contains a rather annoying bug. To sum up, photos that were deleted several years ago suddenly returned to the Photo gallery of some users.
“I’m completely panicked. I just finished updating. During a conversation with my partner, I sent a photo and saw that the last photos were “sensitive” material that we had made years ago when we lived apart (covid, etc.). But WTF. These photos were deleted years ago, but they are magically back?”, exclaims an impacted user on Reddit.
Also read: iOS 17 – new features, compatibility, everything you need to know about the new iPhone OS
Casually, this bug quickly raised concerns. And for good reason, if these photos come back by magic, this could mean that Apple never really removed them. According to the theories of an affected user, it could be a bug in the deletion of images. Instead of deleting photos from iPhone’s internal memory, they would simply disappear from the library. In other words, they are no longer there on your screen, but yet, they are still present on your system.
Regardless, this bug raises questions about confidentiality of user data and on the retention of deleted files operated by Apple on the server side. For now, the brand’s response to Apple is still awaited… Just like a corrective.