Fix This Embarrassing iPhone Photo Bug by Updating to iOS 17.5.1

Apple released iOS 17.5.1 in May, about a week after the company did iOS 17.5 available to the general public. While this update brought new features to your iPhone, such as the ability to detect unknown third-party trackers and Quartiles puzzle gameiOS 17.5.1 fixes an issue that could cause photos to reappear in your photo library after being deleted months or even years ago.

To download the update, go to Settings > General > Software updatetouch Update now and follow the prompts on the screen.

Here’s what you need to know about iOS 17.5.1.

Read more: All the new features coming to your iPhone with iOS 18

What iOS 17.5.1 Fixes

“This update provides important bug fixes and addresses a rare issue where photos that have experienced database corruption may reappear in the Photos Library even if they have been deleted,” Apple wrote in update release notes.

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

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

After you delete these photos, they will remain on your device for 30 days. But you can permanently delete them and other images now. This is how.

Permanently delete photos from your Photos app

1. Tap yours Photos app.
2. Touch Albums at the bottom of the screen.
3. Touch Recently deleted at the bottom of the page.
4. Touch Choose in the upper right corner of your screen.
5. Tap the three dots (…) in the lower right corner of the screen.
6. Touch Delete all and then Delete from this iPhone.

For more on iOS 17, here’s what’s included iOS 17.5 and ours iOS 17 cheat sheet. You can also check how to download second iOS 18 developer beta now and why you might not want to install it yet.