Apple releases update to prevent FaceTime eavesdropping

Apple has released an iPhone update to fix a FaceTime flaw that allowed people to eavesdrop on others while using its group video chat feature.

The repair is included in the latest version of Apple’s iOS 12 system, which became available to install Thursday.

The bug allowed some people to turn an iPhone into a live microphone while using Group FaceTime. Apple turned off the group chat feature last week, several days after a 14-year-old boy in Tucson, Arizona, discovered the flaw. He and his mom tried to contact Apple for several days before the company responded.

The delay in responding to the flaw raised questions about Apple’s handling of it.

Apple credited the Tucson teenager, Grant Thompson, for discovering the FaceTime bug.