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Image Credits:Jamie Street / Unsplash /12:13 PM PDT · April 22, 2026
Apple released a bundle update connected Wednesday for iPhones and iPads fixing a bug that allowed instrumentality enforcement to extract messages that had been deleted oregon disappeared automatically from messaging apps. This was due to the fact that notifications that displayed the messages’ contented were besides cached connected the instrumentality for up to a month.
In a information announcement connected its website, Apple said that the bug meant “notifications marked for deletion could beryllium unexpectedly retained connected the device.”
This is simply a wide notation to an contented revealed by 404 Media earlier this month. The autarkic quality outlet reported that the FBI had been capable to extract deleted Signal messages from someone’s iPhone utilizing forensic tools, owed to the information that the contented of the messages had been displayed successful a notification and past stored wrong a phone’s database — adjacent aft the messages were deleted wrong Signal.
After the news, Signal president Meredith Whittaker said the messaging app shaper asked Apple to code the issue. “Notifications for deleted messages shouldn’t stay successful immoderate OS notification database,” Whittaker wrote successful a station connected Bluesky.
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Do you person much accusation astir however authorities are utilizing forensic tools connected iPhones oregon Android devices? From a non-work device, you tin interaction Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely connected Signal astatine +1 917 257 1382, oregon via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, oregon email.
It’s unclear wherefore the notifications’ contented was logged to statesman with, but today’s hole suggests it was a bug.
Apple did not instantly respond to a petition for comment, asking wherefore the notifications were being retained. The institution besides backported the fix to iPhone and iPad owners moving the older iOS 18 software.
Privacy activists expressed alarm erstwhile they learned that the FBI had recovered a mode astir a information diagnostic that is utilized regular by at-risk users. Signal, similar different messaging apps specified arsenic WhatsApp, let users to acceptable up a timer that instructs the app to automatically delete messages aft a acceptable magnitude of time. This diagnostic tin beryllium adjuvant for anyone who wants to support their conversations concealed successful the lawsuit that authorities prehend their devices.
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Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai is simply a Senior Writer astatine TechCrunch, wherever helium covers hacking, cybersecurity, surveillance, and privacy.
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