FaceTime

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Roberto Escobar Sues Apple for $2.6B Over iPhone Security

Andrew Orr ·

Roberto Escobar, brother of Pablo Escobar, is suing Apple for US$2.6 billion. He claims someone hacked his iPhone and found his email through FaceTime. As a way to fight the company he’s also launching a limited edition iPhone 11 Pro 256GB, gold plated, for US$499.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Pablo’s brother bought an iPhone X back in April 2018, and he claims the security promise fell horribly flat. One year after buying the X, Roberto claims he got a life-threatening letter from someone named Diego, who said he found Roberto’s address through FaceTime.

In the suit, Roberto says he conducted his own investigation after receiving the letter, and found his iPhone had been compromised due to a FaceTime vulnerability.

Go to Settings > FaceTime. You can choose which address and phone number you let people contact you with, if you have multiple numbers and emails associated with your Apple ID. This won’t stop people from obtaining your address elsewhere.

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FaceTime Didn’t See Much Growth due to COVID-19

Andrew Orr ·

A survey of 1,630 people found that among other video chat apps, Apple’s FaceTime got the highest satisfaction score, but didn’t see significant growth in users now that everyone is working from home.

Respondents consider FaceTime to be the easiest service to use, by far: it was ranked highest in terms of video quality and overall satisfaction. However, almost everyone reserved the service for one-on-one calls, and use of the app has barely changed since stay-at-home orders were put in place. Because FaceTime is only accessible to people with Apple products, it makes sense that current circumstances haven’t had a significant impact on the app’s popularity—it is quite likely that users interact with the app in much the same ways they did pre-COVID.

I’m thinking the biggest factor for this is the fact that FaceTime is only available on Apple devices. It’s not a good video conferencing app for businesses with multiple operating systems.

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iOS 12.1.4 Could Fix FaceTime Bug and will Drop Soon

Andrew Orr ·

Apple should fix the group FaceTime bug in iOS 12.1.4 which the company says will appear later this week. If we don’t see it today then that means tomorrow (via Macrumors). [Apple Sued Over Group FaceTime Eavesdropping Bug] Group FaceTime Bug As was widely reported, the FaceTime bug was originally discovered by a teenager, whose…

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Apple Sued Over Group FaceTime Eavesdropping Bug

Charlotte Henry ·

An Attorney in Houston, Texas sued Apple Wednesday as the fallout over the Group FaceTime eavesdropping bug continued. Bloomberg News reported on allegations from Larry Williams. He claimed the flaw resulted in him being eavesdropped on while a client was giving sworn testimony in a deposition.

Attorney Larry Williams II said the glitch intrudes on the privacy of “one’s most intimate conversations without consent,” according to the complaint he filed in state court in Houston. He said he was eavesdropped on while taking sworn testimony during a client deposition. Williams is seeking unspecified punitive damages on his claims of negligence, product liability, misrepresentation and warranty breach.

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Group FaceTime Security Bug was Apparently Highlighted by Twitter User a Week Ago

Charlotte Henry ·

Most of us are only heard about a security flaw on FaceTime on Monday and Tuesday. However, MacRumors found that a Twitter user actually tweeted both Apple Support and Tim Cook about the issue a week earlier. They also submitted a bug report, emailed Apple Support, and contacted Fox News. The user said their teen had found the Group FaceTime bug and could listen to a user’s iPhone or iPad without their permission. It all just adds to the embarrassment caused to Apple by this incident.

Twitter user MGT7500 tagged the official Apple Support account in a January 20 tweet claiming that her 14-year-old son discovered a “major security flaw” that allowed him to “listen in to your iPhone/iPad without your approval.” The user also tagged Tim Cook on the issue in a follow-up tweet on January 21.

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Apple's Privacy Stance Means it Does Not Get a Pass on FaceTime Security Bug

Charlotte Henry ·

It was revealed Monday that Group FaceTime has a major bug. It allows a caller to hear the person they are ringing before the recipient has picked up the phone. As Ben Lovejoy points out on 9to5Mac, Apple, and Tim Cook, in particular, have taken a very strong stance on privacy in recent months. The company even put a big privacy advert on the side of a Marriott in Las Vegas during CES. It has received a lot of praise for its approach to privacy. However, that does not mean they cannot be held to account when a security flaw like this is exposed. In fact, arguably we should expect more from a company that puts such importance on privacy.

This particular FaceTime bug occurs only when someone does something completely illogical and unexpected: adds themselves to a call they initiated. I appreciate this would have been a tricky scenario to anticipate and include in testing. But when you are Apple, a company which has talked of little other than privacy over the past few months, then you don’t get a pass on this.

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Lawsuit Claims Apple Broke FaceTime to Force iOS 7 Upgrades

Jeff Gamet ·

What happens when you don’t want to upgrade to a new version of iOS on your iPhone, but you’re sure Apple is forcing you to anyhow? Lawsuit! Apple is facing a class action lawsuit for just that where the plaintiffs allege the company intentionally broke FaceTime in iOS 6 to force upgrades to iOS 7 all to save some money.

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VirnetX Scores $302.4M Win from Apple in Patent Trial

Jeff Gamet ·

The third time is a charm for VirnetX and its ongoing patent infringement lawsuit fight with Apple because a Tyler, Texas, Federal Court jury ruled the iPhone and iPad maker owes the company US$302.4 million. The patents in question cover secure communication and FaceTime, and now the case will head to the Appeals Court where VirnetX may have a harder time convincing a judge to let it keep the money.