Apple’s Group FaceTime service will remain offline until next week after privacy bug

Apple’s Group FaceTime service will remain offline until next week — longer than it had previously promised — as it fixes a privacy bug.
The security flaw allowed callers to eavesdrop on iPhone and iPad owners.
AFP or licensors Apple disabled its Group FaceTime service after a customer reported a security flaw[/caption]
This was deeply embarrassing for the iPhone maker, which touts privacy as one of its biggest differentiators.
Apple was notified of the problem by customer Michele Thompson more than a week before the story broke in the press, at which point the company disabled the feature.
At that time, Apple said a software update would address the issue before the end of this week — a deadline it has now pushed back.
“We have fixed the Group FaceTime security bug on Apple’s servers and we will issue a software update to re-enable the feature for users next week,” Apple said in a statement yesterday.

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“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we complete this process.”
Apple apologised to users and acknowledged it needs to improve the way it handles reports of security problems by customers.

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