I wonder if this has anything to do with Apple’s CSAM scanning. You know, hang on to the photos as evidence, and, for an added bonus, sell more iCloud storage because the “System Data” now exceeds the free iCloud data storage quota. Win-win!
If it is indeed a boneheaded mistake, then it’s probably because of over reliance on RPC-type calls from the front-end that displays the data, to the back-end that actually handles the data. User deletes photo, and the front-end, instead of actually deleting it, tells the backend to do it… and then hides the photo from view, maybe updates its index of photos marking them as “deleted” regardless of whether the backend actually deleted the photo.
Then an OS update comes along, and rescans the filesystem, and report a bunch of new photos to the front-end, that then happily add them to the GUI to the user’s surprise.
Modern APIs and software architectures are a bloated, unnecessarily complex mess, and this is the result.
From that article they say they will issue refunds if there is a technical issue with the game. Thus, if you live in a country where PSN is not available, you could go that route. “I’m trying to sign up for multiplayer but I can’t because my country is not listed. Therefore multiplayer is broken and I want a refund, because this is a technical issue; a part of the game isn’t working.”
If this is their attitude to a clear self-inflicted fuckup, then that’s plenty reason for me to avoid them and their services. It’s not like their services were distinct in any way… just a dime in a dozen cloud provider.
TL;DR: the reason is that men are horndogs, and those that for some weird reason want to say “no” are pressured by the Patriarchy and/or Toxic Masculinity to say “yes.”
At work, if you have the option, consider using KeePassXC or similar software. That will give you a properly encrypted file with secrets and also password-manager features.