Finally, courtesy of Apple and some third-party researchers, we have a better understanding of why devices running iOS 17.5 are starting to recover long-deleted photos. Although Apple released the iOS 17.5.1 iPhone update earlier this week to address the issue, which it attributed to “database corruption,” the company is tight-lipped about what caused the old files, including some reports of deleted nude photos. start appearing on devices that have never hosted them.
Detailed information on the issue is provided 9-5Mac, Apple says it was caused by a corrupted database access in the device’s file system, affecting files on the devices themselves rather than syncing with iCloud. These files can be moved from old devices when restoring from a backup or when transferring from device to device.
Apple said users did not have access to photo or video files on their phones and that only a small number of people were affected.
A Reddit user claimed earlier now deleted post iOS 17.5 bug resurfaces photos deleted on iPad and sold to a friend. Apple, however, claims that this is not possible 9-5Mac once the device data is completely erased, all files and content are permanently deleted. In fact, Apple claims that this user either did not comply correct device reset procedure or just lying for reddit reputation. The company said only a small number of people were affected by the database issue and that Apple did not have access to photo or video files on users’ phones.
Synactiv’s security researchers expanded the problem by rolling back the iOS 17.5.1 update used to fix it. You can find a detailed explanation their full report here, but in short, iOS 17.5 added a migration mode responsible for scanning and reimporting photos from the file system. The mode was removed with Apple’s latest update because it caused old files to be re-indexed in the local file system and returned to photo galleries.
“Based on this code, we can say that the resurfaced photos are still lingering on the file systems and were just found by the migration program added in iOS 17.5,” Synacktiv said. “Based on this analysis alone, it is impossible to conclude how the photos ended up on the file system in the first place.” The Synacktiv article then directs readers This comment on Reddit for a reasonable explanation that includes the ability for users to save images in both the Files app and the Photos app and delete only the latter.