If you’ve recently updated your iPhone with the latest iOS 15 software, be weary of deleting your deleting your message threads on the Messages app, because you may lose some of your precious photos in the process.
15.1 beta 2 is still deleting photos from my library when I delete the iMessage thread I saved them from 😰😰 FB9658241
— Ezekiel (@superezfe) September 29, 2021
A bug has been found by Twitter user @superezfe and reported by MacRumors that happens when your iCloud performs a backup – that action triggers the bug that deletes any photo in your cloud storage should you delete the message thread you saved it from.
MacRumors have detailed the steps to replicate the bug to show you what not to do:
- Save a photo from Messages conversation to your Camera Roll.
- Check to see that the photo has been saved.
- Delete the thread from which you saved the photo – however, the item will still be in you iCloud Photo Library.
- Perform an iCloud Backup or wait for it to happen automatically, and the photo will disappear.
The only way to circumvent this issue for now is to disable automatic iCloud backups and make copies of your photos onto a separate storage platform. You can also refrain from deleting any of your Messages threads until Apple fixes the issue. Read up on the other bugs that iOS 15 have been causing here.