Apple promises to fix bug that removed music from iTunes

Apple has responded to reports that iTunes has a bug that in some cases could allow music to be removed from its library. An update should be released next week with additional ‘security measures’ to prevent the removal of music.

In a statement issued to iMore, Apple said it is aware of an issue where music is being removed from its iTunes library without the user’s consent. While the company has not yet been able to reproduce this issue itself, it is working on an update for iTunes. There are built-in mechanisms to prevent music from being accidentally deleted, although it was not explained exactly how this works. The update should come out next week.

The problem is probably in the music track matching system; iTunes scans the music library for songs and, in the event of a match, can replace the version on the computer with the default version that Apple has on its servers for its streaming service Music. Normally a pop-up will appear when a local music track is deleted.

Incidentally, it is not the first time that notifications of music missing from iTunes appear. It has happened several times before that the service accidentally deleted music. For example, users have complained that they lost self-recorded recordings because this version was replaced with a standard version of the song.