Apple fixes bug that allowed police to extract deleted iPhone messages
Original: Apple fixes bug that cops used to extract deleted chat messages from iPhones
Why This Matters
Highlights critical privacy vulnerabilities in secure messaging systems
Apple released iOS update fixing bug that let law enforcement extract deleted messages from iPhones. FBI used forensic tools to recover deleted Signal messages through cached notifications stored up to a month on devices.
Apple released a software update Wednesday for iPhones and iPads addressing a security vulnerability that enabled law enforcement to extract deleted messages from messaging apps. The bug caused notifications displaying message content to be cached on devices for up to a month, even after messages were deleted from apps like Signal. 404 Media reported earlier this month that FBI successfully extracted deleted Signal messages using forensic tools by accessing notification databases. Signal president Meredith Whittaker requested Apple fix the issue, stating notifications for deleted messages shouldn't remain in OS databases. Apple's security notice confirmed notifications marked for deletion were unexpectedly retained. The company backported the fix to older iOS 18 software and did not respond to requests for comment about why notifications were being retained.