Apple has temporarily disabled group FaceTime calls after being alerted to a major bug allowing iPhone or iPad users to secretly hear what someone is saying before the person answers the call.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was among those advising people to disable FaceTime until Apple could release a fix, which it said it would do this week.
The bug is acutely embarrassing for Apple, which has long touted its privacy credentials. It also surfaced on Data Privacy Day, when CEO Tim Cook called for privacy reforms.
Apple has been carefully cultivating its image as the prince of privacy in Silicon Valley.
But on Monday the shine of Apple’s rhetoric was smudged by an embarrassing FaceTime bug.
The bug allows an iPhone or iPad user to hear what someone else is saying before that person answers the call. Apple has now temporarily shut down group FaceTime calls, which trigger the bug.
“My teenage son has discovered a major privacy flaw in your newest update that allows users to listen in on other individuals without their permission,” the email said.
Business Insider asked Apple why the concerns were not addressed earlier. It declined to provide further information beyond a statement it issued Monday, in which the company said it had “identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week.”
Apple’s FaceTime bug was compounded by the fact that it surfaced on Data Privacy Day. Originating in Europe in 2006, the day is designed to raise awareness about people’s personal information.
We must keep fighting for the kind of world we want to live in. On this #DataPrivacyDay let us all insist on action and reform for vital privacy protections. The dangers are real and the consequences are too important.
