Apple device users are currently facing a bug that poses a serious privacy issue.
Earlier today, 9to5Mac reported on the bug that has been affecting Apple’s video calling platform, FaceTime. According to the report, you can apparently call someone on the platform and be able to listen to the microphone on their device. The scary part about this bug is that you can do this before the person on the other end of the line decides to accept or reject your call.
In addition to letting the caller listen to your microphone, the FaceTime bug has also been discovered to expose videos. What happens here is when the recipient decides to ignore the call by hitting the power or volume button on his device, the bug broadcasts the audio AND video to the caller.
As identified in the report, the bug seems to be affecting iOS devices running iOS 12.1.2 or later. The report also shows that the same thing happens when an iPhone calls a Mac. Since FaceTime calls done on a Mac ring for a longer period compared to an iPhone, the call gets bugged for a longer time.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed that they are already aware of the issue and are working on a fix to take care of it. The spokesperson promised that the issue will be fixed through a software update that they will release later in the week.
Right now, the best way to protect yourself against this bug is to switch off FaceTime from your phone. You can do this via the settings on your device. But if you use FaceTime regularly, just be mindful when your phone starts ringing as it could be a FaceTime call.