After the Apple iOS 17.5 update, numerous users reported that photos they had deleted years ago were unexpectedly resurfacing on their iPhones and other Apple devices, sparking privacy concerns. Social media quickly filled with complaints about a bug in iOS 17.5 causing these old photos to reappear.
The issue was first highlighted in a thread on the r/iOS subreddit. One user described how NSFW images they had deleted years ago reappeared after the update. “When in conversation with my partner, I went to send a picture and saw that the latest pictures were NSFW material we’d made years ago when we were living apart. It was permanently deleted years ago, but magically it’s back? I checked my iPad and it also has pictures (some artwork I did years ago). I feel so uncomfortable,” the poster wrote.
This revelation led to a flood of similar reports from other users. One person mentioned that after updating to iOS 17.5, they found four deleted images from 2010 reappearing in their Photos app. “Same here. I have four pics from 2010 that keep reappearing as the latest pics uploaded to iCloud. I have deleted them repeatedly,” they wrote.
In contrast, another user experienced the opposite issue, where previously missing photos reappeared after the update. “Opposite situation here. Had a bunch of photos disappear recently (not deleted, they just disappeared). I was told by Apple that the iOS update would make them come back. And it did!” they shared.
Interestingly, some users who claim to have never used iCloud or currently store data on Apple’s service also reported seeing previously deleted photos appear as recent images in their Photos app after updating to iOS 17.5.
