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Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 13:53
Apple to patch privacy bug in video calling feature
By Reuters
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 13:53 By Reuters

This photo illustration taken on April 17, 2018 shows the FaceTime app for video and audio calls on an Apple iPhone 6s in Singapore. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Apple Inc said on Monday it will issue a software patch later this week for a bug that lets iPhone users hear audio from users who have not yet accepted a video call.

ALSO READ: Apple CEO backs privacy laws, warns of data 'weaponization'

We're aware of this issue and have identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week

 Apple spokesperson

The bug, which Reuters was able to replicate, allows an iPhone user placing a call using Apple's FaceTime video calling feature to hear audio from the recipient's phone even if the recipient has not yet picked up the call. The bug appears to rely on Apple's group video calling feature.

In certain situations, the bug also broadcast both video and audio from the recipient's phone, the technology news website the Verge noted. 

"We're aware of this issue and have identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week," an Apple spokesperson said. 

READ MORE: Apple tells lawmakers iPhones are not listening in on consumers

Apple's group FaceTime was temporarily made unavailable due to an ongoing issue, according to Apple's system status webpage.

The Cupertino, California-based company was not immediately available to comment on the update on its system status page.

Users took to Twitter to tweet jokes and comments about the bug affecting Apple's group FaceTime service.

"Disable FaceTime for now until Apple fixes," Twitter Inc CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted.

Apple announced the feature last summer, but then removed it from early test versions of its iOS 12 operating system. The company launched the feature in October.

 


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