Worried about the eavesdropping bug? Here’s how to disable FaceTime on your Mac

By Arif Bacchus Published May 4, 2022

how to use Split View on a Mac — Image used with permission by copyright holder

A serious flaw recently discovered in Apple’s FaceTime feature allows users to eavesdrop on the person they’re calling — even before they’ve answered. Though iPhone users are the ones primarily affected by the bug, the issue also occurs when receiving calls on MacOS. Apple has since taken FaceTime group calling offline to help address any privacy concerns, but disabling FaceTime might be the best way for users to avoid any issues until a fix is sent out. Here’s how to do that on your iPhone, MacBook, iMac, or Mac Mini.

To get started, open up the FaceTime app and then click on FaceTime on the upper-left hand side of the screen in the menu bar. Next, select Turn FaceTime off. This disables FaceTime on an individual MacOS device only; if you own multiple devices, you will need to repeat the process again on each. You also can take the extreme step of disabling FaceTime entirely by signing out of your account on each device. To do this, choose FaceTime from the menu bar, click Preferences, and then click Settings and Sign Out.

Recommended Videos

According to Apple, signing out of FaceTime will turn off all calls until you sign in again. If you want to stay signed in to FaceTime, but just stop receiving calls, you can turn FaceTime off. If someone happens to call you, turning off FaceTime will just disable notifications for the call. To the caller, it will look like you’re not answering.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The process of disabling FaceTime is similar on iPhone. Simply open settings, scroll down to FaceTime, and switch the green FaceTime switch off. If you’re concerned about the bug and have since disabled FaceTime, there are many alternate video chatting apps available across both MacOS and iOS. These include Skype, Google Duo, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Numerous iPhone owners have taken to social media, showing they have been able to replicate the eavesdropping bug. Apple has since issued a statement, saying it is aware of the issue and has identified a fix that will be coming in a software update later this week. That’s still not a solid timeline, so it might be best to live without FaceTime for a few days until the update goes live.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…

Computing

MacOS update: everything you need to know

The MacBook Pro 16-inch on a table.

Whether you've owned one of the best Macs for years or are totally new to the Apple ecosystem, knowing your way around the latest updates to macOS is crucial. Thankfully, you don’t have to do so alone, since we’ve got everything you need to know about the latest macOS updates.

Should you upgrade to the newest macOS release, and how do you do that in the first place? How does it compare to older versions of macOS -- and, indeed, Microsoft’s Windows operating system? We’ve set out to answer all those questions and more, giving you all that you need to know when it comes to the newest macOS update.
macOS Sequoia

Computing

I’m worried Apple will skip its October event – here’s what that means for the M4 MacBook Pro

For months now, we’ve been hearing that Apple is set to announce a boatload of new products -- including the M4 MacBook Pro range, fresh iPads, and more -- at an event this October. Yet a new report suggests that things might not be quite so simple after all.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman says that Apple is set to reveal these new products “around the end of October,” with the devices going on sale on Friday, November 1. So far, so expected.

Computing

I found an app that fixes macOS Sequoia’s annoying pop-ups

macOS Sequoia being introduced by Apple's Craig Federighi at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024.

Years ago, back when I used Windows Vista, I got so annoyed by the constant User Account Control (UAC) pop-ups asking for permission seemingly every time I did anything that I downloaded an app that could silence them for good. Perhaps not the most sensible thing to do from a security perspective -- OK, definitely not the most sensible thing to do -- but I was a desperate man. These days, I’m getting similar vibes from macOS Sequoia.

That’s because Apple’s latest operating system will nag you about permissions on a monthly basis for anything that records your screen. Granted, it’s not as frequent as what I’d get in Windows Vista -- and these prompts were actually weekly in the macOS Sequoia beta, which caused such a blowback from users that Apple changed the frequency -- but it still feels like it’s going to be a real pain for me and a lot of users. Sure, macOS Sequoia hasn’t actually been out long enough for me to be bugged by these alerts every month yet, but I don’t want to hang around until I start pulling my hair out. I need to take action now.