A new bug has been found in iOS 12.1 which activates mic and allows you to listen to people before the call actually starts.
As reported by 9to5Mac, the bug poses a major privacy risk as you can listen to anyone by initiating a FaceTime call and the recipient wouldn’t even know that you are hearing him/her.
The bug has been reported to Apple, and the company has said that an update will be provided later this week to address the issue.
The bug has affected all devices running on iOS 12.1 or higher.
Here’s how the bug allows you to listen to audio during a FaceTime before the recipient picks up a call:
- Initiate a FaceTime call to any contact anyone using your iPhone
- While the call is ringing, swipe from button and tap on Add Person option
- Enter your own phone and a group FaceTime call will be started with the recipient as well as you.
- You will be able to listen to the audio from the other person before they have accepted the incoming call
The bug also has a video aspect which allows you to see the video of the recipient if he/she presses the power button while receiving the FaceTime call. In this case, you will be able to listen to their audio and see the video as well without letting them know about it.
This is a serious flaw which can allow anyone to eavesdrop on you. To escape the privacy-related attacks that can originate from this bug, we recommend you to disable FaceTime until Apple provides an update to fix the big.
