Lightroom 5.4.0 for iOS and iPadOS causes the irreversible loss of photo and preset data

Adobe has had to recall and patch a recent update to its Lightroom app for iOS and iPadOS following complaints from Apple phone and tablet users of photo or preset loss following the installation of its 5.4.0 version for either platform. The company's official representatives and "champions" on this app's forums have had to respond to the affected individuals conceding that their data was irretrievable in the absence of backups.

This problem appears to have arisen on August 18, 2020, and to have affected users regardless of subscriber status. Users have also accused it of wiping out free and paid presets alike. However, this loss did not extend to data in the Lightroom cloud.

The photo-editing household name has issued a follow-up version, Lightroom 5.4.1, that (as it asserts) does not contain this bug. However, it is also incapable of restoring missing data for affected customers. A Lightroom representative has noted this bug does not affect any other versions of the app, which are available for Windows, macOS and Android.