Major FaceTime Bug Lets You Hear the Audio of the Person You Are Calling Before They Pick Up

Benjamin Mayo, for 9to5Mac:

A significant bug has been discovered in FaceTime and is currently spreading virally over social media. The bug lets you call anyone with FaceTime, and immediately hear the audio coming from their phone — before the person on the other end has accepted or rejected the incoming call. Apple says the issue will be addressed in a software update “later this week”.

In the meantime, Tim Cook tweeted:

We must keep fighting for the kind of world we want to live in. On this #DataPrivacyDay let us all insist on action and reform for vital privacy protections. The dangers are real and the consequences are too important.

Twitter user MGT7500 claims to have reported the bug days ago:

My teen found a major security flaw in Apple’s new iOS. He can listen in to your iPhone/iPad without your approval. I have video. Submitted bug report to @AppleSupport…waiting to hear back to provide details. Scary stuff!

At this point it’s not even the bug itself that irritates me, but the manner in which apple handles such reports. It’s unacceptable to call “all hands on deck” only after news of the bug goes public.