Apple rushes to fix FaceTime bug that let users eavesdrop on others
- Users could listen in on people they were calling when they did not pick up and also allowed callers to see the person they were trying to reach
Apple has made the group functionality on its FaceTime application temporarily unavailable as it rushes to fix a glitch that allowed users to listen in on the people they were calling when they did not pick up the call. Under certain circumstances, the glitch also allowed callers to see the person they were calling before they picked up.
The Guardian confirmed the existence of the bug, which was first reported by 9to5Mac. It turned the phone of the recipient of a FaceTime call into a microphone while the call was still ringing. If the recipient of the call pressed the power button on the side of the iPhone – an action that is typically used to silence or ignore an incoming call – their phone would begin broadcasting video to the initial caller.
The company said it was aware of the problem and would release a software update “later this week”.
Apple’s group FaceTime was temporarily made unavailable due to an ongoing issue, according to Apple’s system status webpage.
The bug, which appeared to rely on Apple’s group video-calling feature, was discovered amid increasing concern about privacy by regulators around the globe.