One of the more clever security features of the iPhone X is that messages and other notifications on the lock screen can only be viewed in their entirety when a person’s face is authorized via Face ID. The feature is turned on by default and prevents individuals in your vicinity from taking a quick peek at potentially sensitive information.
Now comes word that a pesky Siri bug provides people with an avenue to look at the content of lock screen notifications without authorization. Originally spotted by Mac Magazine, all someone has to do is ask Siri to read a notification out loud whereupon Siri will read it aloud.
According to the report, the bug only seems to work when applied to third-party notifications, which is to say that your private text messages via Apple’s Messages app are still secure.Still, given the plethora of messaging apps used today — such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp — it’s definitely an issue worth highlighting and one that could be problematic for a large number of users.
The bug works on the most recent iteration of iOS (iOS 11.2.6) and is said to work on the iOS 11.3 beta as well.
Hopefully Apple will fix the bug ASAP, because the illusion of security is arguably more dangerous than no security at all. In the latter case, users will at the very least take steps to keep their phone away from prying eyes.
