Apple has issued a new security update for iPhone users following a concerning glitch.
If you're an iPhone user, then you'll know that once you've deleted a photo, it hangs out in a 'Recently Deleted' folder for 30 days before wiping completely.
But in a 'worrying' development, some users have been reporting that their deleted items have reappeared months - and even years - later.
The tech giant has now released a security update to fix the ‘rare bug’.
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Tipped as an ‘emergency fix’, iOS 17.5.1 has been issued to all iPhone users and contains ‘important bug fixes’.
Apple explained in the update’s description: “This update provides important bug fixes and addresses a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could appear in the Photos library even if they were deleted.”
The tech company didn’t publicly address the return of the deleted photos issue at the time, but it seems like it’s resolved it now with this new software update.
Obviously, nobody wants to risk old photos reappearing - they were deleted for a reason, right?
So, to download it, simply head to your Settings, scroll down to General and tap ‘Software Update’.
You'll then be given the option to download iOS 17.5.1 which you can choose to ‘Update Now’ or ‘Update Tonight’.
Your phone will temporarily turn off as it adds in the update - so make sure you aren't expecting anything important, like a phone call.
The update comes after people had been taking to Reddit to share their apparent experiences of old photos reappearing.
One person claimed that some 'NSFW material' had reappeared on their phone.
"Latest iOS update has brought back some pictures I deleted in 2021. Erm, so yeah. Very creepy. Thoroughly freaked out," they wrote.
While another said: "I have four pics from 2010 that keep reappearing as the latest pics uploaded to iCloud.
"I have deleted them repeatedly."
A third wrote: "One pic from June 2023 reappeared on my iPhone photo library. I'm sure, because in April 2024 I've transferred all my photos/videos to a computer and afterwards cleaned all photos/videos from the iPhone (including trash bin). I don't use iCloud Photos."
While another added: "Some pictures from a few years ago has come back for me. It's really is shocking. They are in the recent images actually that's what is worrying me."
And many people were concerned about the thought of their old photos possibly appearing on devices that they may have sold or given to somebody else.
LADbible.com has reached out to Apple for comment.
Topics: Apple, Technology, iPhone
Lucy Devine