Apple needs to explain that bug that resurfaced deleted photos

Earlier today, Apple released a fix in iOS and iPadOS 17.5.1. Fixing buggy software is a good and normal thing. But that’s not the issue here. The problem is that the fix “addresses a rare issue where photos that have suffered database corruption may reappear in the Photos library even if they have been deleted” – and that’s all Apple has to say about it.

On iOS, deleted photos technically spend 30 days in the Recently Deleted folder before disappearing forever, but the intention of sending a photo to digital oblivion is still there. A reasonable person would expect a deleted file to remain that way. That’s why it’s understandable that people freaked out last week when photos deleted years ago suddenly reappeared in their iPhone’s photo library.

This is obviously a privacy concern. This raises valid questions about how Apple stores photo data and whether iPhone owners can truly trust that their deleted data will actually be deleted. On the edge has reached out to Apple several times for public comment on the matter, but has not yet received a response. Doing so would at least clarify why this bug happened, what was done to fix it, and what is being done to ensure it doesn’t happen again. However, Apple has not yet responded.

What’s worrying is that as long as Apple remains silent, we have no idea how far this bug will go. Some iPhone owners reported the same thing happening with deleted voicemails. Did the bug only affect people who use iCloud photo backups? Other publish claimed that old photos appeared on an iPad that was sold to someone else. All of today’s fixes confirm that this bug existed, was a problem, and had something to do with database corruption. And by ignoring requests to comment publicly on the matter, it does not convey confidence that this will not happen again.

Of course, you could stick your glasses up your nose and say, “Well, actually, no file is actually deleted until it’s overwritten…” And while that’s true, a reasonable customer would expect that when Apple says that a file excluded is permanently excluded, this kind of thing shouldn’t even be possible.

Mistakes and nonsense happen. Cybersecurity researchers find bugs and vulnerabilities all the time. They often report problems to the companies involved before they can be exploited and only disclose weaknesses after they have been fixed. It would be reasonable if Apple wanted to wait until the bug was fixed to prevent bad actors from exploiting the situation. However, this does not give them permission to remain silent on the matter forever.

In fact, Apple should comment simply because it markets itself as a company that cares about your privacy. There were countless talks at WWDC talking about software updates to keep your data encrypted, so that not even Apple knows what’s going on on your phone. That you can trust their services because privacy is a fundamental and central principle of their philosophy. Responsible disclosure and transparency are the hallmarks of a company that truly believes in protecting your privacy. Brushing things under the rug? Not a lot.