iOS 14 camera indicator turns on when browsing Instagram; bug fix on the way

By Aaron Mamiit Published April 25, 2023

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 Digital Trends, 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.”

The spokesperson told Digital Trends that the causes for the bug may be Instagram’s Create Mode, which is accessed through the camera, and accessing the camera directly from the app’s Feed, even partially.

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.

Updated July 26, 2020: Added statement from Instagram spokesperson on a fix for the bug and its possible causes.

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