iPhone Facetime Bug: Why You Should Delete Facetime NOW!

A serious bug in Apple’s Facetime video calling software could allow people to listen to you via your phone’s microphone – without you picking up a call.

A viral Tweet showed off how to spy on users using Facetime, with people able to listen via the microphone and watch via the camera before anyone has picked up.

The bug, reported by 9to5Mac, is simple to perform on the latest version of iOS: you just start a FaceTime video call, then swipe up from the bottom and tap Add Person.

Add your own number, and the group call will begin, with audio of the person you called in the first place – even if they haven’t picked up.

You can also see through the phone’s front-facing camera as well.

Apple has now disabled the group FaceTime feature in response to the find.

“I would be deeply disturbed if someone was able to spy on me, even for a short while, without me noticing,” British computer security expert Graham Cluley wrote.

“It’s easy how it might also be used by jealous partners and obsessive stalkers to spy on the vulnerable.”

In a statement, Apple said that they are aware of this issue and have “identified a fix” that will be released in a software update later this week.

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22 Comments

- - mom81879 said
  - 25 Feb 2020
    10:19 am
I don’t have an iPhone. Good to see Apple acted quickly to prevent this. I do use messenger video calls. I wonder if that has any similar issues?

- - mom19782016 said
  - 23 Mar 2019
    10:08 am
Wow, I had no idea about this

- - Anne McKeown said
  - 17 Mar 2019
    11:50 am
Gosh! I use facetime every week to keep in touch with family overseas and had no idea. Thanks for the alert.

- - mom114371 said
  - 08 Mar 2019
    5:16 pm
What the hell? I’ve never even heard of this. How is this possible?

- - hopefullyheidi said
  - 03 Mar 2019
    12:14 am
Unfortunately these bugs tend to be infiltrating all of our applications. It is particularly disconcerting when you have spoken about something or looked something up and all of a sudden Facebook bombards you with ads that are relevant to whatever you looked up or discussed.

- - Blossom said
  - 08 Feb 2019
    10:15 pm
I know one family who use facetime. The child stays with parents on alternate weeks. It gives the child a few minutes with the parent the child is not with.

- - rnash02 said
  - 01 Feb 2019
    5:18 am
That’s scary!!
I’ve turned facetime off on my kids iPads just in case.

- - mom111059 said
  - 31 Jan 2019
    10:10 pm
It is really quite scary. Hope they fix it quick smart for those that are unaware.

- - mom101628 said
  - 31 Jan 2019
    9:58 pm
Glad I don’t have an iPhone.
- mom93821 replied
  
  01 Feb 2019 , 6:24 am
  I think a number of people might just feel this way at the moment.
- - mom93821 said
  - 31 Jan 2019
    6:58 am
Thanks for the heads up – do not have an iphone! Quite disturbing!

- - Ellen said
  - 31 Jan 2019
    4:07 am
AW that’s scary ! Good that Apple disabled the group FaceTime feature.

- - mom265671 said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    11:03 pm
Haven’t used this feature luckily

- - Mum2archer said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    10:58 pm
Ohhhh that is very creepy! Don’t like the sound of that at all!!

- - mom111059 said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    10:44 pm
Lucky I don’t have an iPhone but this can’t be good for those that do have his.

- - nealsq said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    9:01 pm
That’s a bit scary! I think my daughter might have that

- - ashna9 said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    7:55 pm
That’s such an invasion of privacy too.

- - BellaB said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    6:31 pm
This is quite scary. So easy to misuse.

- - mom160421 said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    3:08 pm
I don’t have an iphone. Very worrying though.

- - mom81879 said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    12:47 pm
Sneaky! I don’t have an iPhone tho so no stress here

- - becstalou said
  - 30 Jan 2019
    12:26 pm
It would be very boring for anyone listening in to our conversations.
- mom90758 replied
  
  30 Jan 2019 , 3:22 pm
  My conversations too. Ha! Ha!