The security features of Apple’s iOS 14 revealed unexpected behavior with the Facebook-owned Instagram app, a fix for which is on the way after being declared a bug.
The iOS 14, which is still in public beta, issues notifications whenever an app is accessing certain iPhone components. This is apparently the case with Instagram, as reports claimed that the camera indicator is turning on while using the app, even when just browsing through feeds and not taking photos.
The discovery made by iOS 14 raises concerns that Instagram was accessing the iPhone’s camera without user consent. However, in a statement to The Verge, a spokesperson claimed that it was nothing more than a bug, and that a fix is in development.
“We only access your camera when you tell us to — for example, when you swipe from Feed to Camera. We found and are fixing a bug in iOS 14 beta that mistakenly indicates that some people are using the camera when they aren’t,” said the spokesperson. “We do not access your camera in those instances, and no content is recorded.”
It remains unclear what caused the bug, and how soon the fix will be rolled out. Digital Trends has reached out to Instagram for clarification, and we will update this article as soon as we hear back.
iOS 14 discovers app accessing clipboard
The iOS 14 security feature that discovered the Instagram bug also previously found several apps accessing the iPhone’s clipboard, including TikTok, LinkedIn, and Reddit.
TikTok’s accessing of the iPhone clipboard forms part of Facebook ads launched by Trump’s presidential campaign that calls for support to ban the app.