Apple's FaceTime video calling feature has a significant bug which has been found to allow the caller to hear the audio even before someone picks the call.
As spotted by 9to5 Mac, the bug lets you call anyone with FaceTime and immediately hear the audio coming from their phone, before the other person has accepted or rejected the incoming call.
The bug affects any pair of iOS devices running iOS 12.1 or later. The report claims that not only audio but even video of the recipient could be sent over to the caller without their knowledge.
This is how the bug works. Call an iPhone contact over FaceTime and while the call is dialing, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and tap Add Person. Here, add your own phone number to make it a group call. Due to the bug, even if the other person does not pick your call, it will look in the UI that the other person has joined the group chat and their audio will be available, even as it will still be ringing on the lock screen.
One will be able to listen to the soundbites of any iPhone user's ongoing conversation. What is more terrifying is that if the other person presses the Power button from the lock screen, their video is also sent to the caller.
Apple is expected to issue a fix with a software update later in the week. Until then, users can disable FaceTime to avoid any kind of eavesdropping.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)