We’ve already given you so many reasons to update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 9.3 when we showed you all the best new features in Apple’s latest mobile OS update. We also told you how to fix the coolest new iOS 9.3 feature if it’s not working properly for you. For whatever reason, some people still aren’t convinced, so now it’s time to see if fear is a better motivator than the promise of great new features.
If you don’t update to iOS 9.3 right now, your iPhone or iPad will remain exposed by a serious security flaw that could allow hackers to steal photos, videos and other files that you send or receive through iMessage.
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Apple’s iOS platform has a few major advantages over devices powered by Google’s Android software, and the instant availability of updates is somewhere near the top of the list. As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted while speaking on stage during a press conference on Monday, about 90% of all iOS devices in the world run a version of iOS 9 while less than 2% of Android devices run the latest available version of Google’s mobile platform.
iOS 9.3 was first released on Monday following Apple’s big iPhone SE and iPad Pro unveiling, and tens of millions of people have already updated their devices. If you’re not among them, you need to be — Apple’s new iOS update fixes a major security flaw that was discovered recently by security researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
In a nutshell, the researchers found that photos, videos and other files sent via iMessage could be intercepted by hackers. iMessage conversations are encrypted, but they found a hole in that encryption that allows it to be broken.
It is unclear if this vulnerability had been previously discovered and exploited by hackers, but there’s only one way to ensure you’re safe: download and install iOS 9.3 right now. If you’re unclear on how to update, this post explains the simple process.
