Long-deleted photos are back on your iPhone and iPad. Apple’s data privacy is in question

In the opinion of most people, Apple provides the most secure ecosystem, thanks to which you do not have to worry about the privacy of your data. This is achieved through multi-level security, including assigning an iCloud account to the device. Several days ago, users reported an issue that undermines real privacy to some extent. After the latest update, photos deleted many years ago are back.

A new issue has emerged regarding Apple devices. It turns out that after the latest update, photos and other materials that were deleted years ago are back. The company has not yet commented on the whole matter.

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The problem came to light thanks to Reddit. This is where you can find many threads with hundreds of posts from concerned people who cannot find the cause of the whole incident. The point is that after the recent iOS 17.5 update, users are finding long-deleted content in the Photos app appearing at the top of the list. The situation seems dangerousAfter all, some photos were taken on other devices and appear on the devices currently in use. There were also cases, where someone signed out of their iCloud account, formatted the device and sold it, and now the buyer informs them that they can see the person’s photos in their photo gallery — even though they are already signed in to their iCloud account. There is no need to talk about how such a situation affects a person who decided to get rid of his equipment years ago. Some people also mention the return of voice notes and messages.

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More and more people care about the privacy of their data, especially since they have never faced such a problem before. If it’s because Apple actually stores deleted data from its users, we’re dealing with one of the biggest privacy breaches in the company’s history. Of course, the origin of the problem may be completely different, after all, it is possible that the image is only marked as deleted, and therefore no longer visible in the system, but it is not actually deleted from the memory, and the update takes place and returns it to the world of the living. Another theory is that the image was deleted, but the sectors on the media it was located in were not replaced by new files, and some functionality was restored from the update. This is highly unlikely, because these sectors have certainly been overtaken over the years, so such a turn of events is bordering on miraculous. What’s surprising is not only that users are getting their deleted photos back, but also that other people who bought Apple devices from someone can also see the seller’s personal photos taken years ago. Unfortunately, Apple has not responded to this yet.

Source: Reddit, The Verge