Apple announces that an update that will fix the FaceTime bug that allowed users to eavesdrop on other members will not be rolling out until next week.
The bug allows FaceTime users to listen to conversations even without answering the group call. Others reported that they can see via the front camera of the other party when they use the volume button to end the call. The error seemed to happen when users add other members to a call.
Apple Says Sorry
"We sincerely apologize to our customers who were affected and all who were concerned about this security issue," a spokesperson said on Friday and added that the update that will fix the FaceTime eavesdropping bug won't arrive till next week.
It is not clear what caused the delay. The spokesperson, however, said that the engineering team has been working on a fix since they were notified of the issue.
Discovery Of The FaceTime Bug
The Cupertino, California-based company acknowledged the problem only on Jan. 28, and it has since disabled the Group FaceTime, which allows members to video call each other at the same time. This was more than a week since Michele Thompson, the mother of the 14-year-old boy Grant, who discovered the eavesdropping capabilities of the app, reported the matter to Apple.
Grant discovered the flaw when he was FaceTiming his friends and noticed that he could eavesdrop on his friend even before he/she answered the call. His mom, worried that this is a major security issue that potentially made iPhone users vulnerable, turned to all possible means to contact Apple Support.
The lawyer-mom e-mailed and faxed Apple and even took it to social media to alert the tech company. The company's product security team then asked Thompson to send a formal report of the bug, but it wasn't until sites picked the news up, which went viral, that the Tim Cook-led brand decided to publicly confirm the problem.
Apple faced slamming after the slow action on the report, and along with the recent announcement, the company said they are "committed to improving the process" of reception and escalation of the reports.
