FaceTime bug: What to do about the huge Apple problem that lets anyone spy on you through your iPhone

Turning FaceTime off is easy if extreme, and probably the right thing to do

Apple CEO Tim Cook (L) speaks using his Memoji during a group FaceTime call on stage during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Centerin San Jose, California (JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

An alarming bug in iPhones allows people to snoop on their owners without their knowledge.

The issue means that people can listen into people when their phones are ringing – allowing them to hear what people are saying even if they never accept the call. Some versions of the bug even allow people to see video at the same time.

Apple says the problem will be fixed later this week, when an iPhone and iPad software update is rolled out to users.

Until then, it has turned off the group FaceTime feature entirely, according to its website. But some users report that the feature is still turned on – and, therefore, the bug is still active – even after Apple made that change.

To be entirely safe, the immediate thing to do is to go into your iPhone's settings and turn off FaceTime. That's done by opening up the Settings app, scrolling down to the FaceTime option, and turning it off.

That will only turn off FaceTime on that specific device. If you are using Apple's Continuity features and have FaceTime enabled on other iPads or Macs, then those computers will also be affected – and so the only way to be entirely sure is to turn that off anywhere you are worried about being listened to.

Such an approach is relatively easy, though of course extreme: it means that phone calls won't work at all through FaceTime, whether they are video or just audio and even if they are not group chats.

It will be important to turn the feature back on when the update arrives and the problem is fixed, if you rely on FaceTime. That's done in exactly the same way.

The bug appears to have arrived when Apple recently added group FaceTime through an iOS and macOS update. The conference calling feature appears to have introduced the problem, meaning that any phone with the iPhone's latest updates will be affected.

The feature had already been delayed, having been shown off at the launch of iOS 12 but not made available until later in the year.