Apple to Fix Major FaceTime Bug That Lets People Covertly Hear Your Audio and See Your Video 'Later This Week' [Updated]

Apple is planning to address a major FaceTime bug that allows anyone who FaceTimes you see the audio and video from your iPhone or iPad even if you don't answer the call.

In a statement made to Axios, Apple said it was aware of the issue and has identified a fix that will be "released in a software update later this week."

facetimebug1
It's not clear when "later this week" is, but Apple will presumably address the bug as quickly as possible because it us a huge privacy violation. While it was originally thought that it only allowed someone who called to hear your ‌FaceTime‌ audio, pressing the power button on a device also allows video to be seen.

These ‌FaceTime‌ calls can be made covertly and are super easy to initiate, requiring only a few steps as outlined in our original post on the subject.

All you need to do is initiate a ‌FaceTime‌ call and add your own number to it while it's ringing, forcing a connection with another person. There is no way to stop someone from using ‌FaceTime‌ this way other than disabling FaceTime on your devices.

Update: Apple appears to have temporarily addressed the issue by disabling Group ‌FaceTime‌ calls server side. On Apple's System Status page, Group ‌FaceTime‌ is now listed as unavailable.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...

Top Rated Comments

44267547 Avatar
83 months ago
Hm. Craig or Tim? Will any Apple exec take the blame this time?
Or, you seem to be missing the fact that Apple is acknowledging the glitch and is readily making adjustments to correct it. It’s not always about placing blame, it’s about acknowledging the glitch, moving forward to a resolution and protecting the consumer as quickly as possible to fix the issue.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
480951 Avatar
83 months ago
This needs to be thoroughly investigated, why are you able to have access to someone's mic/camera without them even answering to begin with? I'm really concerned about how long this bug has been out but not widely known or reported on. This is easily the worst bug I've ever seen in 12 years of using Apple products and I would not be surprised if they're sued for this.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scooz Avatar
83 months ago
Hm, any Apple exec available on Facetime? A peek into the war room might be fun right now.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mi7chy Avatar
83 months ago
Hm. Craig or Tim? Will any Apple exec take the blame this time?
They'll point finger at Scott Forstall again.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
richard371 Avatar
83 months ago
Well until then let’s have some fun.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scooz Avatar
83 months ago
Or, you seem to be missing the fact that Apple is acknowledging the glitch and is readily making adjustments to correct it. It’s not always about placing blame, it’s about acknowledging the glitch, moving forward to a resolution and protecting the consumer as quickly as possible to fix the issue.
Nah, that’s just a communications technique to look active after not being active enough in the first place.

Don’t let the spokesman distract you from looking at the person responsible.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)