iOS 17.5.1: Fix Embarrassing Photo Bug Now

TL;DR: iOS 17.5.1 fixes a rare but alarming bug where deleted photos could reappear in the Photos app. Update your iPhone now and manually delete any resurfaced photos to ensure they’re permanently removed.

Apple released iOS 17.5.1 on May 20, about a week after iOS 17.5. While iOS 17.5 brought new features, like detecting unknown third-party trackers and a new puzzle game for Apple News Plus subscribers, iOS 17.5.1 patches an issue that could cause pictures to reappear in your Photos library after being deleted months or even years ago.

To download the update:

1. Go to Settings > General > Software Update
2. Tap Update Now
3. Follow the onscreen prompts

What iOS 17.5.1 Fixes

“This update provides important bug fixes and addresses a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted,” Apple wrote in the update’s release notes.

This update comes after a now-deleted Reddit post where the author said they felt uneasy when iOS 17.5 resurfaced some long-deleted NSFW photos in their Photos app on their iPhone and iPad. Other Reddit users reported the same issue after updating to iOS 17.5.

While iOS 17.5.1 should fix this bug and prevent previously deleted photos from resurfacing in the future, the update doesn’t remove those already resurfaced photos from your device entirely, according to 9to5Mac. That means you will have to delete those photos a second time.

Once you delete those photos, they will stay on your device for 30 days. But you can permanently delete them and other images now.

Permanently Delete Photos from Your Photos App

1. Tap your Photos app
2. Tap Albums across the bottom of your screen
3. Tap Recently Deleted near the bottom of the page
4. Tap Select in the top right corner of your screen
5. Tap the three dots (…) in the bottom right corner of your screen
6. Tap Delete All and then Delete From This iPhone

For more on iOS 17, here’s what was included in iOS 17.5 and our iOS 17 cheat sheet. You can also check out what we want to see in iOS 18 at WWDC 2024.

Update now. Stay safe.