Apple has had over a week to fix the FaceTime bug affecting both iPhones and iPads alike. The bug, first discovered by a fourteen-year-old boy, allows anyone placing a FaceTime call to listen to the audio from the other phone before the person receiving the call has time to accept or decline the call. In other words, it’s a major breach in your Apple device’s security.
Apple is usually quick to fix any bugs they encounter. They hate to receive bad press. So it was odd when they were initially slow to respond to the issue. They even refused to release a statement. Yet as the time ticked on and the bug went on unaddressed, they were finally forced to disable the Group Chat function that allowed the bug to exist in the first place.
Since there have been viral videos breaking down how to trigger the bug on an unsuspecting victim has gone viral it may be smart to take additional actions. Some sites have even listed how to do it step by step. We won’t be doing that here.
If you would like to take further steps you can go into Settings and Disable FaceTime. This will prevent anyone from violating your privacy until the software update is available.
The bug has also been reported to exist on Mac so here are the steps to disable facetime on Mac.
- Open the FaceTime App
- Tap FaceTime at the top of the screen, in the Menu Bar
- Click Turn FaceTime Off
Apple is taking a huge risk by allowing this problem to go unchecked and may have even known about the problem for over a week before disabling the software. This type of dishonesty is damaging to any brand, even one as big as Apple.
This is a bad look for Apple who is facing stiffer competition than ever from competitors like Samsung and Google. By waiting to release a fix for the bug until the next software update, Apple gambles losing any customers who value their privacy and honest business practices.