iPhone not deleting photos properly: iCloud allegedly uninvolved

A worrying iOS bug continues to cause uncertainty, especially as Apple has so far provided hardly any tangible details about it. According to an analysis by security researchers, a migration routine in iOS 17.5 can cause photos that were thought to have been deleted but are still stored in the file system to be added back to Apple's Photos app. This happens purely with files stored locally on the device and independently of iCloud photos. The restored images therefore do not originate from Apple's servers.

Incorrectly deleted iPhone photos apparently remain undeleted

Apple's bugfix update iOS 17.5.1 removed this routine, which was added in iOS 17.5, explains Synacktiv based on a comparison of code changes in the two operating system versions. However, iOS does not appear to make any effort to properly delete the supposedly deleted photos that are actually still present in the file system. iOS 17.5.1 therefore only prevents the no longer visible images from reappearing in the Photos app.

Apple has also stated that iCloud Photos is not involved in the bug: The photos that were not properly deleted from the device were not synchronized with iCloud Photos in the first place, an unnamed Apple employee - who was not quoted verbatim - told 9to5Mac. However, these undeleted photos that still exist locally in the file system could be transferred from iPhone to iPhone over the years, for example through local backups or direct data migration from an old iPhone to a new one. Apparently, iCloud backups can also contain photos that have not been properly deleted. However, photos are generally only backed up in iCloud backups if the user has not activated the separate iCloud Photos function.

How reliably does iOS delete files?

A user report on Reddit (which has since been removed), according to which strange photos appeared on a previously reset and properly deleted iPad, was rejected by Apple as false in an interview with 9to5Mac.

As Apple only briefly stated when iOS 17.5.1 was released, this may affect photos that "have had database corruption". According to the manufacturer, these are only "rare cases". A proper, public explanation of the bug and its implications is still pending. For iPhone users, it remains unclear whether they should trust the Photos app's deletion routine (and for files in iOS and iPadOS in general) at all. There is no official Apple statement on the subject.

(lbe)