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.

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.