Why does the iPhone destroy all of my photos by artificially increasing their brightness by ~25%?
Even the "AE/AF Lock" function doesn't work since you can "lock" your contrast, and it will be destroyed by the iPhone after the photo is taken.
Why does that function exist?
How do I fix this error and if not possible, presumably this is grounds for a full refund, since the entire camera on the phone is broken due to this.
Fixes?
iPhone 16, iOS 26
Has the phone had this problem since you first got it? You can get a full refund for your phone within the first 14 days if you bought it directly from Apple, even without stating a reason. Other sellers will have their own policies for what justifies a refund.
If it just started recently after working fine for a while...
Most of us don't see the problem you describe, so it may be local to your phone, either a newly developed fault or some setting or combination of settings you accidentally created.
Let us know when it started, whether it affects all photos or some subset (maybe those taken in low light or string light), and what specific phone model and version of iOS you are running. Perhaps the next volunteer advisor (or I) will be able to give you more specific advice with more specific information.
iPhone artificially destroys every photo taken
