Serious glitch, which can also turn on video without people’s knowledge, comes amid increasing concerns over privacy
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 video of 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.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian. The company told Reuters that 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 over privacy by regulators around the globe.
Apple has attempted to distinguish itself from rival technology companies such as Google and Facebook by boasting about its privacy record. In early January, the company ran a 13-floor billboard in Las Vegas stating, “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone” during the Consumer Electronics Show.
Until Apple releases its software update, it appears that the best way for iPhone users to protect their privacy is to disable FaceTime in the phone’s settings.