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Thursday, January 31, 2019

FaceTime bug lets you listen in on people, even if they haven't picked up their iPhone

There's a FaceTime bug that lets you hear through someone else's iPhone, even if they haven't answered your phone call. It was previously reported on Twitter by user Benji Mobb and reported by 9to5Mac.

CNBC tested it and verified that it's a real bug. I tried placing a video call to my editor from my iPhone using Apple's FaceTime app. Then, before he picked up, I used the menu option to add somebody else to the call and, as 9to5Mac's directions state, I added myself to the call. Suddenly, I could hear my editor, even though he never picked up. We continued having a conversation while his phone only gave him the option to answer. There was no indication that the call had already gone through.

The Verge reports that, if the person you're calling tries to end it by tapping the power button on their phone, it sends video but no audio. That means the person calling you can see a video of you or your surroundings as if you'd answered the call. I replicated this with a friend.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, we go back 60 years to the old 'party lines'.
That was like the old 'Coconut telegraph'. You knew what your neighbor was up to before her husband did.
"Hello, Maybelle, get me Crisfield 968, please" "Jimmy Tyler" Yes, that's the one. " Then everyone on that line could listen on to me and Jimmy.
See kids, we had to pick up the phone off the hook, and before the dials, we asked the operator to place our calls. That was only after we picked up the needle of the record player so we could hear.
No, I'm not that old, but my grandmother had a party line phone in her house that still worked. That's where the terms 'pick up' or 'hang up' the phone came from. The phone hung on a hook on the wall.

Anonymous said...

That is becasue all of these apps and app makers are in on the whole scheme to give the govt access to your shit, regardless of what they tell you... Just like the FBI and the Apple crap... It was all smoke and mirrors to see if they could compel a company to do as they see fit... Had nothing to do with finding evidence... they had all of the evidence they needed... But what you people don't realize is all software now has backdoor for tech giants and govt to get access... They just think you are to stupid to know any different, and most of you are just that stupid... Lets also take the WIFI thing being hacked in the new JEEPS, where hackers can take control of your car because it is un-secure internet connection in your car... Because the car manufactures don't give a shit about safety or protecting a fully computerizes car from hackers...

Anonymous said...

Listen in on mine. Careful tho not to fall asleep.