APPLE has issued an important software update fixing a bug that made millions of iPhone owners’ deleted photos reappear.
A cyber flaw in the new iOS 17.5 update led to accounts of material magically resurfacing from the past.
Apple has described the unwelcome bug as “a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted.”
But the issue, albeit “rare”, has sparked a furious debate over privacy on social media, with many calling into question their trust of Apple.
One Reddit poster complained of NSFW “material” popping back up in recent photos despite being “permanently deleted years ago”.
Talk of the bug has also erupted on X.
“We have no privacy. They have everything. Even deleted apparently,” a viral comment from account Majestic Memes said.
Another said: “Your delete button isn’t really a delete button. Scary.”
Privacy is a 'fundamental human right'
By Millie Turner, Technology & Science Reporter
Apple says it prioritises privacy, that people’s right to keep their business, their business is a “fundamental human right,” according to its website.
The iPhone maker has made true on that statement in a lot of ways: from the introduction of Passkeys to the ability to lock different photo albums.
But experts have long said that gaps remain in Apple’s approach.
People know the drill by now.
There are many tech companies and apps out there gobbling up our data.
You know what they say, if the app is free – you are the product.
But when you’re forking out north of £1,000 for a sparkly new iPhone, it’s not unreasonable to expect a stricter element of privacy that means your deleted photos are, in fact, deleted.
It’s like buying a car just to have Honda, Ford or whichever accidentally pull up a list of your last travelled locations.
It’s odd. And a bit chilling.
But most importantly, it’s confusing.
There really could be a simple explanation behind all of this, but what simple means for Apple is not that simple for the laymen.
And it’s this uncertainty that lets privacy fears spiral into conspiracy-level rumours that consumers find hard to shake.
Apple has still not revealed how the problem occurred, or how it stores photo data.
When iPhone owners delete images from their camera roll, they end up in a separate Recently Deleted folder that permanently erases images after 30 days.
Images can be deleted ‘forever’ from the Recently Deleted folder manually.
Apple could feasibly overwrite data instead of deleting it, according to Forbes, which would only occur once that part of the storage was needed for something else.
This could explain why they were able to be brought back from the dead.
But as The Verge notes, “so long as Apple remains silent, we have no idea of how far this bug goes.”
Some iPhone owners have reported the same thing happening with deleted voicemails.
The Sun has contacted Apple for comment.
How to update
You're looking for an update titled iOS 17.5.1 in your iPhone Settings app.
To find it, open the Settings app, click on General, then Software Update.
You can choose to update the new software – and fix the bug – now, or later when your iPhone is on charge (and connected to Wi-Fi) overnight.
This update is available on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR, and more recent devices.
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