Why Deleted iPhone Photos Resurfaced on Certain iOS Devices
We now have a clearer understanding of why devices running iOS 17.5 experienced the reappearance of long-deleted photos, thanks to insights from Apple and third-party researchers. Although Apple rolled out the iOS 17.5.1 iPhone update to resolve the issue earlier this week, citing “database corruption,” the company remained relatively silent on the specific cause behind the sudden reappearance of old files, including deleted images, as reported by some users.
According to Apple, as explained to 9to5Mac, the problem stemmed from a corrupt database entry within the device’s file system. This issue affected files stored directly on the devices themselves and not those synced to iCloud. Apple suggested that these files might have originated from older devices during the restoration process from a backup or through device-to-device transfers.
Previously, a Reddit user had alleged in a now-deleted post that the iOS 17.5 glitch had brought back photos on an iPad that had been factory reset and sold to a friend. However, Apple refuted this claim, stating to 9to5Mac that all files and content are permanently erased during a complete device data wipe. Apple implied that either the user didn’t follow the correct device reset procedure or fabricated the incident for attention. The company clarified that only a small number of users were affected by the database issue and reiterated that it doesn’t have access to users’ photo or video files on their devices.
Security researchers from Synactiv further delved into the issue by analyzing the iOS 17.5.1 update used to address the bug. While their full report offers an in-depth explanation, in essence, iOS 17.5 introduced a migration routine responsible for scanning and re-importing photos from the file system. Apple’s recent update removed this routine because it inadvertently caused old files to be re-indexed on the local file system and reappear in photo galleries.
“Based on this code, we can say that the photos that reappeared were still lying around on the filesystems and that they were just found by the migration routine added in iOS 17.5,” said Synacktiv. “Based only on this analysis, it is not possible to conclude how the photos remained on the filesystem in the first place.” Synacktiv’s article directs readers to a Reddit comment for a plausible explanation, which includes the scenario of users saving images to both the Files app and Photos app and subsequently deleting only the latter.
