Apple has suspended part of its FaceTime video-calling app after a software glitch let people “eavesdrop” on unsuspecting iPhone users.
According to 9to5Mac, FaceTime users could call anyone using the app and “immediately hear the audio coming from their phone” - before the person on the other end had accepted or rejected the incoming call.
In some cases, the bug also resulted in video being broadcast from the recipient’s device.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The glitch affects devices running the latest version of the tech giant’s mobile operating system, iOS 12.1, which is available on all models from the 2013 iPhone 5S to the new XS, XS Max and XR handsets.
The Verge reports that the problem is linked to the app’s new Group video-calling feature and occurs when a user “swipes up” during a call and taps on their own phone number.
“Once you’ve added yourself, FaceTime immediately seems to assume it’s an active conference call and begins sending the audio of the person you’re calling, even though they haven’t yet picked up,” the website adds.
An Apple spokesperson told Reuters that the company is “aware of this issue and we have identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week”.
In the meantime, the tech giant has disabled FaceTime’s group call feature until it is fixed.
Ironically, the discovery of the glitch on Monday coincided with National Privacy Day in the US - an event that is “heralded” by Apple chief executive Tim Cook, says the BBC.
The privacy faux-pas has also been widely reported on social media, with tech experts including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey calling on users to temporarily deactivate the FaceTime app.
How to disable FaceTime
Deactivating the entire app may be unnecessary, given that Apple has already disabled the defective feature.
But to play it safe, iPhone and iPad users can go to Settings, then FaceTime, and then toggle the green switch into the off position, the Daily Express says.
-
Political cartoons for November 27Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include giving thanks, speaking American, and more
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
Is Apple’s Tim Cook about to retire?Today's Big Question A departure could come early next year
-
iPhone Air: Thinness comes at a high priceFeature Apple’s new iPhone is its thinnest yet but is it worth the higher price and weaker battery life?
-
Is Apple breaking up with Google?Today's Big Question Google is the default search engine in the Safari browser. The emergence of artificial intelligence could change that.
-
Fake AI job seekers are flooding US companiesIn the Spotlight It's getting harder for hiring managers to screen out bogus AI-generated applicants
-
Why won't Apple make iPhones in America?Today's Big Question Trump offers a reprieve on tariffs, for now
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AIFeature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
-
Space-age living: The race for robot servantsFeature Meta and Apple compete to bring humanoid robots to market
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 yearsSpeed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
