Apple Bug Lets iPhone Users Listen in on Others Via FaceTime

  • Company disables FaceTime conference calls, update coming soon
  • New York Governor calls bug an ‘egregious breach of privacy’
Apple Bug Lets IPhone Users Listen in on Others
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Apple Inc. customers discovered a software bug that lets people listen in on other users by way of the company’s FaceTime video chat service in one of the biggest privacy-related problems faced by the company.

The bug allows a user to call someone on FaceTime and automatically begin hearing the other person before they pick up the call. The other person isn’t aware that the caller can hear them. The bug, confirmed by Bloomberg News, happens when a user creates a FaceTime conference call, puts in their phone number, and then adds the number of another person. The flaw also allows video to be sent if the other user clicks either their power button or one of the volume controls.