The mysterious fault occurred after the iOS 17.5 update, which led to some users’ photos magically resurfacing on their phones.

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Previously, the tech giant only described the bug in an important update, saying it was a “rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted’”.

While the phenomenon is uncommon, one Reddit user claimed that their NSFW ‘material’ had reappeared – even though it had been ‘permanently deleted years ago’.

“We have no privacy. They have everything. Even deleted apparently,” a viral comment from account Majestic Memes on X wrote.

Another said: “Your delete button isn’t really a delete button. Scary.”

Unsurprisingly, many iPhone users were concerned about how this could be possible.

This is especially the case for those who have sold their old Apple kit onto others.

Meanwhile, some speculated that it might be related to iCloud.

But Apple has now come out to deny any link to its cloud storage service.

Speaking to 9to5Mac, the firm said photos that did not fully delete from a user’s device were not synced to iCloud Photos.

They were only ever kept on the device itself.

But the files could have stuck around from one device to the next when restoring from a backup, performing a device-to-device transfer, or when restoring from an iCloud Backup but not using iCloud Photos.

The firm repeated that the issue was rare and emphasised it did not and does not have access a user’s photos or video.

Apple also stated that some allegations about the bug were untrue.

One Redditor claimed that their images had reappeared on an iPad that had been sold to a friend despite them doing a factory reset.

The post has since been deleted and Apple has stated that the allegation was ‘false’.

iPhone users have been encouraged to update their phone’s operating system now to fix the issue.

To do this, go to your Settings then General which is where you should find the Software Update section.

You can then download and install the iOS 17.5.1 update.

Even with this new update though, the bug isn’t entirely solved.

If you still find that there are photos that have reappeared, you’ll need to delete them manually from your main album.

These photos will then remain in the Recently Deleted Album for 30 days – unless you hit the ‘Delete from all Devices’ button.

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How to update

You’re looking for an update titled iOS 17.5.1 in your iPhone Settings app.

To find it, open the Settings app, click on General, then Software Update. 

You can choose to update the new software – and fix the bug – now, or later when your iPhone is on charge (and connected to Wi-Fi) overnight.

This update is available on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR, and more recent devices.