When iOS 17.5 was released on May 13, several reports appeared online from iPhone owners claiming their device was recovering deleted photos. It quickly resulted in a security scare, as some people feared that their smartphones could contain file data without their knowledge. Fortunately, it was fixed shortly after with the release of iOS 17.5.1.
First of all, no one really knew what caused the error. Early theories placed the blame on a software bug, however the patch notes for iOS 17.5.1 said it was due to a “database corruption.” People felt the explanation was too vague, so Apple decided to provide more details in response.
In a statement to 9To5Mac, the company claims that the old images resurfaced due to a “corrupt database entry” within the iPhone's file system. It affected images on the mobile device, but not files synced to iCloud. So even if they disappeared from iCloud, they stayed on the smartphone, hidden from view, only to reappear when iOS 17.5 was installed.
Apple goes on to claim that the reason the photos appeared on users' new iPhones was because of the same corruption. The affected files could have jumped from one device to another if someone performed a file transfer or restored them from an iCloud backup.
Solving the problem
Apple did not say what it did to fix the issue, however, researchers at cybersecurity company Synacktiv reverse engineered iOS 17.5.1 to see exactly how it was fixed. The entire report is a dense read as it really gets to the heart of the matter.
Essentially, though, Apple added a “migration routine” in iOS 17.5 that had a bug that allowed it to scan an iPhone's file system for photos. If it found something, it added it to the photo library, which made the deleted images reappear.
What's particularly strange is that iOS 17.5.1 removes the routine, but not the files. Synacktiv claims that Apple did not delete any of the “'deleted' images found in the file system.” They're still there, in some dark corner of your iPhone.
We couldn't help but wonder: why do iPhones save images to the file system? Shouldn't image files exist only in the Photos app? No one knows, not even Synacktiv, although there may be an explanation.
A feature, not a bug
The report links to a Reddit post made on May 20 by a user who claims to know a guy who works as a “private contractor at Apple” and who supposedly gave them information about what happened. Take this information with a grain of salt. According to this mysterious source, iPhones can sometimes save images or screenshots in both the Files app and the Photos app. The criteria for what is saved depend “on different factors.” They didn't say what they are.
So even if you delete an old image from the Photos app, an exact copy could exist within Files and this is what the migration routine mentioned above recovers. The Reddit user goes on to say that his “friend” claims that Apple isn't spying on people. This is not a backdoor to iCloud since “your…data is mostly secure.”
You may be wondering: why does iOS save two copies of certain images? Again, no one knows for sure. That will have to be a mystery for another day. We've reached out to Apple for further clarification and will update this post when we hear back.
Be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best iPhones for 2024.
