Some iCloud users are reporting serious issues, including corrupted videos that now contain still images taken by unknown people.
Posting in the MacRumors forum, one user reveals how videos recorded on an iPhone 14 Pro Max result in “black videos with scan lines” and, more worryingly, “inserting stills into videos from unknown sources, possibly others’ iCloud accounts.” These stills reportedly picture “other people’s families, soccer games and other random photos.”
The problem seems to occur only when HDR and HEVC recording is enabled and when using the latest version of iCloud for Windows downloaded from the Microsoft store.
Since posting, others have reported the same issue which appears also to occur on videos shot with an iPhone 13 Pro. Furthermore, the original poster claims to have reported the issue to “the Apple security team” only to be told that it’s not a security concern.
If the intrusive images are coming from other iCloud users, this most certainly is a very serious security concern. At this point, no one knows where the images are coming from. Without knowing the source, there’s no concrete evidence that anyone’s security has been breached. However, one user currently experiencing the bug has described these unexpected photos as “clearly someone else’s personal images”, which is potentially worrying for anyone who has personal content stored in their iCloud library.
Thankfully, the problem doesn’t appear to be widespread as only a handful of users have reported the issue. The original poster has also reported that the bug is no longer occurring. However, this offers no reassurance for anyone whose personal photos may have already been shared accidentally, whether or not they originated from iCloud.
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