The iOS 17.5 bug that causes deleted photos from years ago to make a return appearance on iPhones and iPads may be worse than first thought. At least one user has seen their photos come back from the dead, even after their old iPad had been erased and sold to someone else.
Reddit user AnimatorAmazing190 says they had wiped an iPad back in September 2023, before selling it to a friend. The friend updated the tablet to iOS 17.5 this week, and the previous user’s old photos began showing up in the iPad’s Photos app.
I wiped the iPad using official Apple guides before selling. I never logged into that iPad with my Apple ID after erasing the iPad. I sold my iPad to a friend in September 2023, they called me today after updating to iPad OS 17.5 and said my old pictures appeared in their Photos app… HUGE PRIVACY VIOLATION. I see other reports of this. How many people will get other people’s photos on the devices they bought from other people?
The iPad was a fourth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro and it was erased according to Apple’s official instructions. The Reddit user says they did not log back into the iPad after the erasure.
Earlier this week, I reported on several users on Reddit reporting that iOS 17.5 is causing old images that were deleted (in some cases years ago) to reappear in their photo libraries. All of the previous reports were from users who still owned the devices, had not wiped them, and were still logged into the device with their Apple ID. Some users reported seeing deleted photos making a return from as long ago as 2010.
Now, however, at least one user says an erased and sold iPad is bringing back old photos, from the previous owner’s iCloud account. The photos that are returning are said to be from 2017. The images were originally taken on the user’s iPhone and synced to the iPad via iCloud Photo Library.
Some users are reporting seeing photos from as far back as 2010 making a return engagement in their Photos app. While the issue isn’t being reported by all users (I haven’t seen anything like this on my devices) it is still concerning that it is happening at all.
Apple has yet to comment on the situation.