On Wednesday, popular gadget blog Gizmodo proclaimed that the site's writers were able to "spy on a total stranger's iPhone" thanks to an iMessage-related bug. But today there are reports that Apple deems the incident "an extremely rare situation" — not a bug — and that it occurred because an Apple employee did not follow routine procedures.
The iPhone which allowed Gizmodo writers to "spy" on an Apple employees incoming and outgoing iMessages belonged to a student whose mother brought it into an Apple Store for repair. The Apple employee who repaired the device was the victim of what was previously considered a bug.
The Loop's Jim Dalrymple explains that — according to an Apple representative — the Apple employee failed to follow protocol and inserted his own personal SIM card into the iPhone while he was repairing it. When he did that, "the iPhone married itself to [his] number" and began receiving all of the messages addressed to it. This explanation fits with the theory Gizmodo's Sam Biddle offered when he originally wrote about the issue.
The entire situation could've been resolved if "the employee had simply toggled iMessage on and off, or if the customer had put in a different SIM card," writes Dalrymple. He also notes that the situation covered in Gizmodo's post has been resolved at this point, according to what Apple representative Natalie Harrison told The Loop.
Apple did not reply to our own request for an explanation of this matter.
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- Blog: 'Apple bug let us spy on stranger's iPhone'
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