Facebook Users Discover Bug That Secretly Allows Access to iPhone Camera
Written by SOURCE on November 12, 2019
Facebook users have discovered that the platform’s iPhone app has a bug that allows camera access while they scroll through their feeds.
On Sunday, Twitter user @JoshuaMaddux shared a screen recording of the Facebook app on his iPhone, where he showed that the camera appeared behind the Facebook app while he was using it.
“Found a @facebook #security & #privacy issue. When the app is open it actively uses the camera. I found a bug in the app that lets you see the camera open behind your feed. Note that I had the camera pointed at the carpet.”
Others discovered the glitch earlier this month, like Twitter user @neo_qa, who called it “a little worrying.”
The bug looks to only impact iPhone users who have the latest iOS 13 software installed on their phones, and people who have allowed the app to access the camera and microphone, TechCrunch reports. It’s thought that the glitch is related to the app’s “story” view, where users can take photos with their camera. One way to sidestep this issue is to revoke Facebook’s camera and mic access on your phone.
Facebook has been facing backlash for the bug. The company’s vice president of integrity Guy Rosen tweeted on Tuesday that it “sounds like a bug” and the company was “looking into it.”
A Facebook spokesperson later confirmed to TechCrunch that the issue was indeed a bug. “We recently discovered that version 244 of the Facebook iOS app would incorrectly launch in landscape mode,” the spokesperson told the outlet. “In fixing that issue last week in v246—launched on November 8th—we inadvertently introduced a bug that caused the app to partially navigate to the camera screen adjacent to News Feed when users tapped on photos.”
“We have seen no evidence of photos or videos being uploaded due to this bug,” the spokesperson added. The bug fix was submitted for Apple’s approval on Tuesday.
