How to Turn Off FaceTime on iPhone, iPad, and Mac - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Turn Off FaceTime on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

by

There's a serious bug affecting FaceTime right now, which lets someone who calls you hear the audio on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac even if you don't answer the call.

There does not appear to be any way to avoid getting these unwanted calls, short of turning off FaceTime. Luckily, it's easy to do.

facetimehowtodisable

How to Turn Off FaceTime on Your iPhone and iPad

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down to ‌FaceTime‌.
  3. Click on the toggle next to "‌FaceTime‌."

This will turn off ‌FaceTime‌ on your specific device, but you will need to deactivate ‌FaceTime‌ on all of your iPhones and iPads to avoid unwanted spy calls if you use ‌FaceTime‌ connection methods other than a phone number.

How to Turn Off FaceTime on macOS

  1. Open up the ‌FaceTime‌ app.
  2. Click on "‌FaceTime‌" in the menu bar.
  3. Select "Turn ‌FaceTime‌ Off."

You can also choose "Preferences" and deselect "Enable this account to deactivate ‌FaceTime‌.

With ‌FaceTime‌ disabled, no one will be able to secretly ‌FaceTime‌ call you to listen to your audio. With ‌FaceTime‌ enabled, anyone can exploit a Group FaceTime bug to place a call to you that will allow them to listen to your audio even if you don't accept the ‌FaceTime‌ call.

Top Rated Comments

99 months ago
I'm still on iOS 10. Looks like I'm still enjoying the best iOS version.
Some would stay that would be iOS 6. ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
99 months ago
The big downside to this is most people will probably turn off FaceTime and never turn it back on, even after the bug is fixed.

I like being able to call people with FaceTime audio, because the sound quality is far better than a cellular call. This may prove less reliable in the future.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
99 months ago
This doesn’t work between my wife’s iPhone 8 (11.4.1) and my ip7+ (12.1.3) both devices must have to be on iOS 12.
I think that's b/c Group FaceTime was an iOS 12 feature.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
-BigMac- Avatar
99 months ago
How to turn off Facetime.

Click “Turn off Facetime”.

The more you know;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AZMecha Avatar
99 months ago
I'm still on iOS 10. Looks like I'm still enjoying the best iOS version.
Not :p:p:p
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
99 months ago
[doublepost=1548735503][/doublepost]Of if you get a call from anyone you dont trust, just power off your phone immediately.
Seems like overkill. If someone was actually worried about a FaceTime attack of this kind, easy enough to decline the call and that ends the whole thing right there.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Unveiled Four New Products Today

Tuesday August 25, 2026 8:39 am PDT by
Apple today unveiled a new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chip options, a new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chip options, a new version of the Polishing Cloth with a lower price, and updated Magic Keyboards for Macs. To learn more about these products, read our coverage below: Apple Announces New Mac Mini With M6 and M5 Pro Chips and More Apple Unveils New Mac Studio With M5 Max and M5...
Apple Logo Gradient 16x9 1

Apple Just Made an Extremely Rare Product Announcement

Thursday August 27, 2026 7:58 am PDT by
The new Mac mini and Mac Studio models unveiled by Apple this week are the company's first new Macs announced in August since 2020. It is extremely rare for Apple to announce new products of any kind in August, excluding smaller things like new color options and accessories. As mentioned, Apple's last notable August product announcement was in 2020, when it updated the 27-inch iMac and a...
apple magic keyboard with glyphs 2026 refresh

Apple Quietly Refreshes Magic Keyboards

Tuesday August 25, 2026 7:22 am PDT by
Apple today quietly introduced updated Magic Keyboard models with revised U.S. English key labeling. On the new keyboards, the tab, caps lock, shift, return, and delete keycaps are labeled with glyphs rather than edge text. On the full-size models with a numeric keypad, the change goes further, with the home, page up, page down, end, clear, and enter keys also swapping their text labels for...