Apple to Fix Major FaceTime Bug That Lets People Covertly Hear Your Audio and See Your Video 'Later This Week' [Updated] - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

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

imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
ios 26 4 pastel

iOS 26.4: Top 10 New Features Coming to Your iPhone

Friday March 20, 2026 2:44 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters. Playlist Playground - Apple Music has a Playlist Playground option that lets you generate playlists from text-based descriptions. You can include moods, feelings, activities, or...

Top Rated Comments

93 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)
93 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)
mi7chy Avatar
93 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)
93 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)
93 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)
93 months ago
Well until then let’s have some fun.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: Business | Buyers Guide | Iphone | Mac | World News