iPhones and zombie pictures

It had already happened to the writer some time ago and was one of the reasons why he conceived AnoniCloud.

It was one morning back in 2017 when he opened the “Gallery” app with his then iPhone. To his immense astonishment, he noticed photographs that had been deleted long ago had reappeared in his gallery!

Disappointment, astonishment, doubt: “I had already deleted those pictures… I am (almost) sure! Again? Why?”

Your author was (and is) paranoid and began to think, began to empathise with the person whose phone ends up in the wrong hands – somehow unlocked – and photographs that should never have been seen reappear from the underworld like the scariest creature we could ever encounter!

I consulted with a trusted friend and we both came to the logical conclusion that “Apple restored a backup”.

Unacceptable: Just as what is dead must stay dead, what is deleted must stay deleted.

Then comes our scheming soul: Apple, what aren’t you telling us? What do you do with our most intimate photographs?

Back in 2023, Jeffrey Paul discovered that simply by selecting any image on his mac (on which iCloud had not been configured) network traffic would start up in the direction of Cupertino, CA; any image would then be sent to Apple… Why?

Now this article in Forbes – iOS 17.5: Concern As iPhone Users Report Deleted Photos Are Reappearing – takes up and confirms my old experience: When it’s a single user who notices a “strange thing” we point to the error of manoeuvre, but if Forbes comes along and talks about it… well then the problem is really serious!

The causes are far from being understood: what the user has deleted is most likely only “masked” but still present, in imperishable memory, for future reference.

At AnoniCloud we are really glad that we created AnoniCamera: If you don’t like (or no longer need) a picture in AnoniCamera, powered by AnoniCloud, and you want to bury it, we not only take it down, but we also drive a nice ash stake through its heart: You can never be too careful!

The Return of the Zombies: A Gothic tale

In a small village hidden amongst the mountains, life flowed peacefully and without interruption. The inhabitants were accustomed to their daily routines, unaware that beneath their feet lay a dark secret. It was said that every hundred years, when the full moon coincided with the summer solstice, the zombies, creatures of the night, would come back to life.

Legend told of an ancient cemetery, located just outside the village, where the inhabitants of a bygone era, victims of a mysterious plague, were laid to rest. They were not ordinary dead, but beings who had made a pact with dark forces for immortality. However, the price was steep: they had to return as the undead every century, to wander the night in search of new souls to join their eternal torment.

The fateful night was approaching, and the signs were clear. The full moon shone larger and brighter than ever, and a cold wind blew from the mountains, bringing with it a chill that penetrated to the bone. Feeling the air charged with tension, the villagers locked themselves in their homes after sunset, whispering prayers for protection from evil.

When the night of the solstice finally arrived, silence enveloped the village. No one dared to step outside, except for the old cemetery keeper, who knew the legend well and knew what to do. He had prepared a ritual to appease the spirits and prevent them from leaving the sacred ground.

As he recited the ancient formulas, the ground began to tremble and a chorus of spectral moans rose from the graves. The headstones cracked and from the fissures emerged the hands of the zombies, followed by their decomposing bodies. The keeper did not lose heart and continued his ritual, his voice strong against the howling wind.

At dawn, the village awoke to silence. The keeper had disappeared, but the cemetery was intact, as if nothing had happened. The villagers wondered if it had all been a dream, but deep down they knew that the keeper had sacrificed himself to save the village. And so, the legend of the zombies that “return every so often” continued to live on, a warning to future generations never to forget the courage of one man and the mystery that lay beneath their land.

And that is the story of the zombies that return every so often, a tale passed down from generation to generation, reminding all that some legends hide truths that should never be forgotten.