iCloud for Windows Users Complain of Corrupted Videos, Photos From Strangers

Apple's iCloud for Windows software appears to experiencing serious issues for some users, with complaints on the MacRumors forums about corrupted videos and images from strangers appearing in Photo Libraries.

iCloud General Feature
There are a handful of complaints from customers who are running into complications with iPhone 13 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro models. Videos recorded on an ‌iPhone‌ and then synced with ‌iCloud‌ for Windows are turning black with scan lines, rendering the videos unwatchable.

More worryingly, some users are seeing strange photos and videos that do not belong to them appearing in their libraries when they attempt to watch these corrupted videos. MacRumors reader sleeping_ghost explains:

iCloud for Windows is corrupting videos recorded from an iPhone 14 pro max resulting in black videos with scan lines. On rare occasions, it is inserting stills into videos from unknown sources, possibly other's iCloud accounts. I've been shown photos of other people's families I've never seen in my life, soccer games, and other random photos. Obviously, this is extremely concerning and does not exactly make me feel safe using iCloud.

It is not clear if the photos are images from other ‌iCloud‌ users, but it appears possible. From the thread, users have seen random families, children, soccer games, and other similar photo content.

Deleting the ‌iCloud‌ for Windows app does not appear to fix the issue, as it may be server side, and several people have reported it to Apple, so the company may be aware. Windows 11 and Windows 10 both appear to be impacted, and it may only be affecting devices with certain settings like HDR and HEVC enabled.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...

Top Rated Comments

idktbh Avatar
40 months ago
Images from strangers appearing in Photo Libraries? are you ****ing kidding me?
Score: 84 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
40 months ago
Apple has done it again. The is alarming and law-suit worthy. But I have come to expect such things from Apple.

By the way, Apple is the one lecturing us about child safety and CSAM? And other users are all like "What do you have to hide"? It's just that some of us know better than to trust Apple.

Edit: Oh, come on, man: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/icloud-for-windows-corrupting-videos-downloading-other-peoples-photos.2370666/?post=31743286#post-31743286
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sirozha Avatar
40 months ago
I love the feature of images from strangers. How do I subscribe to it?
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0112862 Avatar
40 months ago

I’m going to blame Microsoft Windows for that. Reminds me of Microsoft Vista.
Are you for real!?! This is 100% Apple fault. Apple is backend and Microsoft frontend in this story. On top of this, Apple 1st party and Microsoft 3rd. A third-party frontend accessing unauthorized content from a firstparty backend is a big effing deal. It prove one thing, their architecture is garbage. This should be prevented by design so random bug doesn't trigger this. My feeling, they have a backdoor into iCloud and this bug exploit something around the backdoor.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wallaby Avatar
40 months ago
They must be trying out the Pied Piper algorithm.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icanhazmac Avatar
40 months ago
New Apple service? iFap? OnlyAppleFans? New images daily!
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)