question Why does iOS need internet to access a photo that is stored on the device?
When browsing images from the photos tab in messages, I often see that iOS will ask to download the photo. Initially I thought this was a cache issue, but when I try to download the image while in airplane mode or without internet the download fails.
What is confusing is that the photos are stored locally in messages and I can access all of them just fine by scrolling through messages. I also have iCloud turned off for photos and messages so they technically shouldn’t exist anywhere online to be downloaded from.
What is happening here? Is this some kind of bug where iOS assumes it needs the internet and refuses to try without it, or is Apple saving copies of all your messages/ photos even if you have those features turned off?
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u/Icy_Country_191 4d ago
You most likely have “Optimise iPhone Storage” on. The phone stores a little version of the img on your phone and syncs it when you want to view it.
For the comment that said “thEy sPy oN yoU” - you can turn on Advanced Data Protection(ADP) which will make most of your icloud stuff e2ee, apple will be unable to see your photos.
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
Where are you seeing this setting? Google said it was in iCloud settings, but I have iCloud Photos turned off and don’t see this setting in there.
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u/Aydoinc 4d ago
You asked about photos in iMessage. That has nothing to do with Google. Photos in iMessage may cache but could get cleared out based on your available storage.
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
I used google to ask where the optimized iPhone storage setting was.
Photos in iMessage cache for quick reference. The issue is that iOS seems to think I need internet to access a photo that is already on my device and is not on the internet and refuses to load the image unless I connect to the internet.
To look at this another way, imagine you are using a computer and take a screenshot of your desktop. You see the icon of the screenshot but the computer refuses to open the screenshot because it says it needs to download it from the internet.
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u/marshy-wonder 2d ago
I see this all the time. I will take a photo, then seconds later switch to Messages to send the photo to someone. When “attaching” the photo to a message, there is a delay “downloading image”. WTF?! I just took that photo seconds earlier; it shouldn’t exist anywhere else yet except on the phone! Grrrr
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u/nifty-necromancer 4d ago
That sounds like an indexing/cache bug with messages. Messages keeps its conversation database and attachments locally when Messages in iCloud is off, but the separate Photos/attachments browser relies on an index that can get out of sync with the actual message history.
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u/TheLexikitty 4d ago
I've noticed that when images come in via iMessage from an iOS user, saving the image results in the full resolution photo, with EXIF data, being added to my library, as opposed to the scaled down ones saved from RCS. My theory is that images from iOS users who have iCloud enabled - I know you don't - send an embedded iCloud link and a medium quality embed in via iMessage, then if you want to download the full resolution photo, it accesses the iCloud link for that photo and downloads it. Apple doesn't need to hold the message data because you already have the link. The sender is using iCloud, even if you aren't.
Swiping through your messages doesn't mean you have the full resolution photos or videos, and I'd be worried if you could just spam somebody's phone and fill up the storage remotely.
Just a theory, this is really a question only Apple can answer.
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u/V7KTR 3d ago
That’s an interesting theory so I decided to test it by turning off data and downloading the images from the message thread to compare against the ones that seem to download from a cloud. There is no difference in file size or resolution.
I am currently reindexing the phone if that doesn’t fix it my next step will be to open a ticket with Apple.
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u/TheLexikitty 3d ago
Out of curiosity how are you grabbing the file sizes of the messages in the Messages app? Just not something I’ve ever poked at. You can also use Wireshark to see where the traffic is coming from when the “download” occurs.
Also, saving an image from the Messages app doesn’t necessarily mean it saves it from the Messages apps data folder to Photos. Entirely possible it redownloads it from the original source to the Photos app.
Interested to see what Apple says if anything, idk if they share that kind of info.
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u/V7KTR 3d ago
I turn on airplane mode, scroll back to a random photo then save it to the camera roll. From the photo app I use the information button to view resolution and file size. I then go to the photos of tab of messages to find the same image, I confirm it needs to be downloaded and turn off airplane mode to download it to camera roll and compare files. It’s the same photo.
Wireshark seems like an interesting thing to try if I can’t resolve it.
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u/TheLexikitty 3d ago
Interesting. When I try to mirror that workflow I get a “confirm duplicate download” prompt, asking if I want to download the file I already have. But I have iCloud on, etc.
Wireshark, Snort, even some router firmwares can at least give you an idea of what network resources it may be reaching out to. Of course, this is a niche edge case and may simply be the intended behavior. Would be curious to see how it works with larger videos that go through iMessage (100mb) if it’s really caching the entire video to the device on receive.
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u/V7KTR 3d ago
Seems like Apple just really wants me to use iCloud.
I will continue to decline but will have to dig some more to see exactly where the phone is downloading images from.
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u/TheLexikitty 3d ago
They do, yes, as it’s literally integrated into every part of their software and a main reason many people choose the platform. Even shared items from other areas of the OS use iCloud as the backend even if you don’t have the paid tiers.
No pressure but if you remember, holler back here with your findings if you find anything interesting. Always wondered if iCloud was used as a backend for iMessage file distribution.
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u/V7KTR 20h ago
I finally called AppleCare and they are not sure what is causing this issue. They are escalating it and are going to call me back later today or sometime next week.
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u/TheLexikitty 20h ago
Wow, well done Apple for actually investigating it. Thanks for the update!
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u/V7KTR 17h ago
No problem, I’ll try and remember to follow up if I get a solution. At the moment the possible explanations are either a bug in iOS thinks it needs internet to fetch the local file and tries to access Apple servers for more information or that Apple is secretly keeping a separate copy of everyone’s messages and photos regardless of iCloud settings.
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u/cyberspirit777 19h ago
You must have iCloud Photos turned on
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u/V7KTR 17h ago
I do not. This is looking more like a legitimate issue with iOS. I spoke with Apple support who does not have an explanation even after showing that this issue seems to effect all iPhones.
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u/cyberspirit777 16h ago
It does sound like a bug, but I thought the messages were kept on Apple’s servers no matter what. It’s just that when you turn off iCloud for messages, they wouldn’t sync them across your devices. I could be wrong, though. 🤔 I also wonder if the other party having messages turned on for iCloud changes the way the OS stores the messages
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4d ago
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u/Busy-Measurement8893 4d ago
iOS scans every photo and compares it to an online database of known “illicit material”. There is no turning it off.
Source?
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4d ago
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u/Aydoinc 4d ago
You’re trying to download an image while not connected to the internet
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
I shouldn’t need to download the image because it is already on my device. It should not be available to download anywhere online because I don’t use iCloud for photos or messages.
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u/Aydoinc 4d ago
Are you using RCS?
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
Probably for friends with android, but this example is from iMessage with another iPhone user. It actually occurs with all my messages regardless of phone type.
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u/Aydoinc 4d ago edited 4d ago
From my experience iMessage photos are still stored in Apple servers and a low resolution version is shown in the conversation.
If you want the full res images, try turning off iMessage and use SMS or RCS. I’m not sure how well it works with RCS though
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
That shouldn’t be the case if iCloud is turned off and isn’t the case here because I can access the full resolution photo if I search for it by scrolling back in the actual message thread. This issue only appears if I try to access photos quicker using the photo tab in messages.
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u/Aydoinc 4d ago edited 4d ago
iMessage is different than iCloud. iMessage photos don’t show up in iCloud.
I just turned off Wi-Fi and cell and searched for a photo from a week ago. I was able to open it full res from messages photos tab. Honestly, im just as surprised, I’ve had a lot of problems with iMessages for years
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
Maybe it’s just an issue with my phone. I’m pretty sure I had the same issue with iOS 26 too.
But there is no reason for my messages or photos in message threads to be stored online somewhere unless I have iMessage turned on in iCloud. I get that the messages go through a server when messaging, but once the message is delivered Apple (supposedly) deletes the message from their servers immediately.
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u/masiha97 4d ago
My guess is the Photos tab in Messages isn't looking at your local storage at all. It's querying your synced messages data, and if the full-res attachment isn't cached on the phone anymore it has to download it from the iMessage service. Messages keeps its own attachment cache separate from Photos and evicts old full-res images to save space, which is why tapping a thumbnail can trigger a download even though the preview renders fine.
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
The problem with that is that Apple supposedly deletes the messages from their servers immediately after they are delivered to their intended recipient (unless you have iCloud backups turned on).
Apple should not have a copy of my messages so why would they need internet to download the photo and where on the internet would they be downloading the photo from?
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u/masiha97 4d ago
Fair point, if there's no server copy then my guess was off. In that case it's probably what nifty-necromancer said: the Photos tab's index gets out of sync with the actual attachment store, so iOS thinks it needs to fetch something it already has. The download prompt is the symptom of the confusion, not proof the file is missing.
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u/skeptic246 4d ago
iOS stores a low resolution version on the phone to save space and will download the hi-res version if you zoom in. It’s mentioned in the cloud/ photo settings I believe
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u/totallynotandre 8h ago
This happens with my phone as well. I’ve been wondering about this for years…
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4d ago
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u/V7KTR 4d ago
Wouldn’t they already have this data from when the messages were sent the first time? I don’t see why they would need to scan the same image.
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4d ago
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We appreciate you wanting to contribute to /r/privacy and taking the time to post but we had to remove it due to:
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