Some users reported that their iPhone photo library had strangely re-emerged deleted photos.
An update for iOS (and iPadOS) was just released by Apple in order to address a peculiar bug that has been appearing over the course of the previous week. It was discovered by some customers that photographs that they had deleted were showing again in their photographs library after the release of iOS 17.5; the new version of iOS, 17.5.1, is supposed to fix this issue. The update “addresses a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted,” according to Apple’s description of the problem (which can be seen here).
According to MacRumors, a number of users on Reddit have reported that they observed images that had been deleted not only a few weeks ago but also months and years ago making their way back to their devices. In point of fact, one individual stated that they had discovered photographs from the year 2010 appearing in their library as if they had been taken just recently.
Apple has not provided any additional information beyond what is included in the release notes for iOS 17.5.1, as is their customary practice; nevertheless, we are reaching out to them to inquire about whether or not they have any other information regarding the origin of this bug. During this interim period, you might as well go ahead and update your iPhone or iPad right away.