A small group of FaceTime users have claimed that a strange glitch with Apple’s FaceTime video-conferencing platform has been invading their privacy.
Useres have posted on the Apple discussion forums, claiming that this “creepy” bug is saving photos of themselves even while not running FaceTime. One concerned user said that her boyfriend saw a picture of himself at work displayed in FaceTime, even though he has never used the Apple’s video chat application while in the office.
“When one of us is calling the other via FaceTime, an old picture freezes on our screen, while the person receiving the call only sees a black screen,” user kar0786 wrote on Apple’s discussion forums. “It’s kind of creepy, because it brought up photos of both of us at work, where I have used FaceTime a few times but he never has.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, in further tests from members of the Apple community, few have been able to successfully replicate the issueg.
Even so, several people responded in the Apple forums saying that they have experienced the same problem. A second user said that it was “very creepy for my phone to be taking pictures of me when I haven’t told it to.” The person was told by Apple support to restore the iPhone to factory settings, which, according to the same person, did not work successfully.
Based on the information provided in the Apple forums on this latest reported glitch, the bug has only popped up since the release of iOS 4.3… which may potentially be the culprit. If this is true, Apple will surely address it in the incoming 4.3.2 update.
A video posted by one of many people claiming to be experiencing the latest FaceTime glitch can be found here.