Apple patches iPhone bug exploited by police to access deleted chats
▼ Summary
– Apple released a software update fixing a bug that let law enforcement extract deleted or auto-disappeared messages from iPhones and iPads.
– The bug caused notification content to be cached on the device for up to a month, even after messages were deleted inside apps like Signal.
– The issue was first reported by 404 Media, which revealed the FBI used forensic tools to extract deleted Signal messages from an iPhone.
– Signal president Meredith Whittaker confirmed the company asked Apple to fix the issue, noting deleted message notifications should not remain in any OS database.
– Apple backported the fix to devices running the older iOS 18 software, but did not explain why the notification content was being retained.
Apple has issued a critical software update for iPhones and iPads that closes a security loophole exploited by law enforcement to recover deleted messages. The patch, released Wednesday, addresses a vulnerability in which notification data containing the content of messages was stored on the device for up to a month, even after users had deleted the messages or set them to disappear automatically.
According to a security notice on Apple’s website, the bug caused “notifications marked for deletion [to] be unexpectedly retained on the device.” This directly confirms a problem first reported by 404 Media earlier this month. The outlet revealed that the FBI had used forensic tools to extract deleted Signal messages from an iPhone. The exploit worked because the message content displayed in a notification was saved in the phone’s internal database, persisting long after the user deleted the conversation within the Signal app.
Following that report, Signal president Meredith Whittaker publicly called on Apple to fix the issue. “Notifications for deleted messages shouldn’t remain in any OS notification database,” Whittaker wrote on Bluesky. The update suggests that Apple agreed, though the company has not explained why the notification content was being cached in the first place.
The fix is also being backported to devices running iOS 18, ensuring older operating systems receive the same protection. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the root cause of the data retention.
The revelation that authorities could bypass Signal’s disappearing message feature has alarmed privacy advocates. That feature, also available in apps like WhatsApp, allows users to set automatic timers that erase messages after a specified period. It is a critical tool for journalists, activists, and others who want to ensure their communications remain private if their device is seized. With this update, Apple has closed a significant gap that undermined that protection.
(Source: TechCrunch)
