Critical Bug: System Data Storage Leak Loop (iOS 18-26) Causing Boot Loops and Data Loss

I am posting this to bring attention to a critical, device-breaking bug regarding System Data Storage that has been widely discussed across Reddit and MacRumors but remains unacknowledged by Apple.

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/zje7sx/anyone_else_with_an_insane_amount_of_system_data/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/1o9fqv4/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/1he5fgo/how_do_you_clear_system_data/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/1pvkdfy/updated_psa_the_proper_way_to_remove_or_reduce/

How to clear system data on iPhone - Apple Community

Many more!

There is a recurring proposed solution include changing the data in years forward (risking bootloop and deletion of messages), or toggle ProRaw etc to trigger cache maintence. But these do not work for all, surely did not work for me for me.

Since updating through iOS 26.2 to 26.4, my System Data continuously grows by several GB every single day until it fills 100% of my phone's physical storage.

Once full, the device becomes completely unusable apart from not having space to use for camera, and messaging apps:

• The Update Boot Loop: If I attempt to run an iOS update while the storage is under this strain, the phone immediately bricks itself into a continuous boot loop because the OS doesn't have the necessary swap space to unpack the update.
• The Unacceptable Workaround: The only way to prevent a boot loop or a broken phone is to proactively erase and restore the entire device from a backup every 4 to 6 weeks before the storage maxes out, as it will refuse to back up properly once it hits the ceiling.
• If I wipe and restore update: The problem comes back. Each restore is a risk to data Loss: Random apps lose their local data, iCloud Drive data fails to sync, and digital wallet cards randomly stop working.

The Technical Cause

Several advanced users digging into local sysdiagnose logs on Reddit have traced this back to what appears to be an endless icon cache data storage leak loop (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/system-data-overflow-bug-storage-full-with-170gb-of-undeletable-data.2473648/page-2) or corrupted local CloudKit/mobile asset sync logs that refuse to flush.

Despite users reporting this behavior tracking all the way back to the foundations of iOS 18, it is still devastating devices on the latest iOS 26 builds.

My Demand to Apple

This is not a minor cache issue that "clears itself when the phone needs space." This is a severe file system vulnerability that puts corporate and personal data at immediate risk by breaking core device functionality.

1. Fix the Cache Purging Logic: Treat runaway System Data accumulation as a Tier 1 critical priority bug.
2. Open the System Data Partition: If Apple's automated engineering cannot properly manage or flush these background log leaks, open up the file system visibility to the user so we can manually purge the corrupted icon/asset caches ourselves.

Countless users are sitting on ticking time-bomb devices waiting for a fix. This needs to be escalated to engineering immediately. FIX IT, APPLE.