iOS text bug spreads to Twitter and Snapchat

SINGAPORE — Days after it was discovered that an iOS text bug could shut down an iPhone, a security researcher has now highlighted that the same flaw also impacts Twitter and SnapChat apps running on iOS, reported the Guardian yesterday (May 29).

The same string of non-Latin characters, which includes Arabic, Marathi, and Chinese characters, can be sent over Twitter via a public mention or direct message, and when the notification pops up on the iPhone, the smartphone crashes. Similarly, the Apple device crashes when the characters are sent via Snapchat and the user tries to read it.

According to the Guardian, there is no lasting damage caused by the crash, although users will not be able to open their SnapChat chat history with the person who sent the message without crashing their iPhone again. The problem was highlighted by Finland-based antivirus provider F-Secure’s chief research officer Mikko Hypponen.

Earlier this week, it was found that a specific series of unicode characters sent via text could crash the iPhone. The message also affects the Apple Watch, iPad and any other iOS mobile device.

Responding to the text bug, Apple has said it is working to fix the issue.

In a post on its support page, Apple is it “aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update”. But before the fix is available, affected users can ask Siri to “read unread messages” and use Siri to reply to the malicious message. The Messages app will open after that, said Apple.

If the issue continues, tap and hold the malicious message, tap More, and delete the message from the thread, the company added.

Users can also protect their phones by disabling notification banners. SYAFFANA SAZALI