Apple: Resurfaced deleted photos aren’t syncing via iCloud Photos – Computer – News

Apple has provided a possible explanation for why deleted photos suddenly appear on devices. The company said in a statement that this most likely happens when a corrupt database is transferred to a new device.

apple Responds to 9to5mac To recent reports of users who suddenly saw old deleted photos appear on new devices. It has happened to many users who have done this Reported on Reddit. Users are sometimes shown photos in their galleries that they deleted years ago. Apple has released a fix for the issue in iOS 17.5.1.

In the release notes for this release, the company actually wrote that it was a fix for an issue “where images that showed database corruption could reappear in the library.” However, the company did not clarify what exactly database corruption means. Apple has now provided more details about the issue to 9to5mac, although much remains unclear.

Apple is refuting a Reddit user’s claim that he factory reset his iPad before selling it to a friend. Apple describes that it is impossible for photos to still be viewed in this state. The company says that in rare cases, a corrupt entry can occur in the database when users delete photos. In this case, this corrupted entry only remains on the device, but is not synced with iCloud Photos. However, the company says that it may be possible to transfer these corrupt entries to a device through device-to-device transfer or from iCloud Backup. The company says this isn’t possible if you use iCloud Photos.

It is still unclear how many users are affected by the issue and what is the exact cause of the database corruption. Apple appears to be implying that the user who initially posted on Reddit was mistaken or did not follow the proper process of wiping devices. The original post has since been deleted, but more users have raised the issue in the thread.