Apple disables Walkie-Talkie on Watch due to a serious security flaw

Apple has disabled its Walkie-Talkie app for the Apple Watch due to a security flaw that could allow someone to listen in on a user’s iPhone call.

TechCrunch reported the vulnerability Thursday, with a statement from Apple saying the company is working to “quickly fix the issue.”

Apple says it was not aware of anyone actually exploiting this vulnerability, but decided the bug was so serious that disabling the Walkie Talkie app was the “right course of action.”

“This bug could allow someone to listen through another customer’s iPhone without consent,” Apple said. 

The report has no further details about the nature of the vulnerability, which was reported to Apple through the company’s official “Report a security or privacy vulnerability” portal. 

The Walkie-Talkie app, introduced in June last year, lets Watch users send each other audio messages with a simple tap of the wrist. 

In January this year, a FaceTime bug in iOS allowed users to eavesdrop on other users, prompting Apple to temporarily disable the Group FaceTime feature. On that occasion, however, Apple took a while to acknowledge the bug and take action to fix it. 

The Walkie-Talkie bug isn’t the only security issue Apple has been dealing with today. Earlier, the company also issued a fix that removes a dangerous part of Zoom’s Mac app.