HomeAppleApple disables its Walkie-Talkie feature because of the bug found in it

Apple disables its Walkie-Talkie feature because of the bug found in it

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apple watch walkie talkie

It is very rare to see Apple disabling apps or features. In recent times, Google is the only company which disables its Google Photos for Android TV app. The reason behind this action was a serious vulnerability found in the app. Yesterday, Apple has to disable its Walkie-Talkie feature in the Apple Watch due to a bug which allows someone to eavesdrop your phone call conversations.

What is Walkie-Talkie in Apple Watch?

We are sure many of you might not know this feature existed in the first place. Apple’ Walkie-Talkie feature only available on the Apple Watch Series 4. If you and your friend both have Apple Watch Series 4, both of you can talk to each other by tapping the button. It’s more or less like a walkie-talkie device.

According to TechCrunch, Apple immediately disables the Walkie-Talkie feature the moment they know about this serious bug. Now, Apple is working on a fix which could solve the eavesdropping bug. However, Apple says only specific conditions and sequences of events will cause the user conversation to be eavesdrop.

Below is the official statement from Apple:

WE WERE JUST MADE AWARE OF A VULNERABILITY RELATED TO THE WALKIE-TALKIE APP ON THE APPLE WATCH AND HAVE DISABLED THE FUNCTION AS WE QUICKLY FIX THE ISSUE. WE APOLOGIZE TO OUR CUSTOMERS FOR THE INCONVENIENCE AND WILL RESTORE THE FUNCTIONALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY USE OF THE VULNERABILITY AGAINST A CUSTOMER AND SPECIFIC CONDITIONS AND SEQUENCES OF EVENTS ARE REQUIRED TO EXPLOIT IT, WE TAKE THE SECURITY AND PRIVACY OF OUR CUSTOMERS EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY. WE CONCLUDED THAT DISABLING THE APP WAS THE RIGHT COURSE OF ACTION AS THIS BUG COULD ALLOW SOMEONE TO LISTEN THROUGH ANOTHER CUSTOMER’S IPHONE WITHOUT CONSENT.  WE APOLOGIZE AGAIN FOR THIS ISSUE AND THE INCONVENIENCE.

In conclusion, we are guessing by now you should know about this feature after reading our article. In case you are planning to try it now, you have to wait until Apple enables back the Walkie-Talkie feature. We will update once Apple fixes this bug.

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Raaj Lokanathan
Raaj Lokanathan
A software engineer as a profession. A tech blogger as a passion.

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