Apple fixes bug used by police to retrieve deleted chat messages from iPhones

Apple released software updates for iPhones and iPads on Wednesday to fix a bug that allowed law enforcement to delete messages that were deleted or automatically disappeared from messaging apps. This was because information indicating the content of the messages was also stored on the device for a month.

In a security notice on its website, Apple it said an error means that “information written to be deleted may be stored unexpectedly on the device.”

I am talking about another story Published by 404 Media at the beginning of this month. An independent report also reported that the FBI was able to remove Signal messages deleted from someone’s iPhone using forensic tools, because the contents of the messages were displayed on the notification and stored inside the phone’s database – even if the messages were deleted inside Signal.

After the incident, Signal President Meredith Whittaker said the communications maker had asked Apple to resolve the issue. “The information about deleted messages should not remain in any OS database,” Whittaker he wrote in a post on Bluesky.

It’s not clear why that information was entered in the first place, but today’s update shows that it was an error.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking why the information is being stored. So does the company he recommended to fix it for iPhone and iPad owners running the older version of iOS 18.

Secret service providers were shocked to learn that the FBI has found a way around security measures used every day by vulnerable people. Signal, like other messaging apps like WhatsApp, allows users to set a timer that instructs the app to automatically delete messages after a set amount of time. This can be useful for anyone who wants to hide their speech in case authorities confiscate their devices.