Disable Facebook Camera Rights on IOS Right Now
There is ample evidence that Facebook is always tracking our data, but a new issue found in the Facebook iOS app suggests that the company may be literally watching too. A new bug, and most parties seem to think it is a bug – turns on the phone camera in the background while you are using Facebook.
The problem was discovered by web designer Joshua Maddox, who tweeted a video of him clicking on a Facebook photo on iOS and then moving it slightly to the side to open his phone’s camera in the background rather than an app. Maddux said he was able to reproduce the bug on five different iPhones running iOS 13.2.2.
The Next Web reported that it was able to reproduce the issue, and other users claim they were able to locate the hidden camera as well, according to 9to5Mac . Maddux and TNW speculate that the issue may be with a specific version of iOS 13.2.2, as they were unable to reproduce it elsewhere, although at least one other user has stated that they can detect it on iOS 12.4.1. For my part, I found no problem on my iPhone XS running iOS 13.3 beta.
Since the issue became known, Facebook VP Guy Rosen tweeted that Facebook does not believe the bug is aware of the bug and is working to fix it. He also said that Facebook did not find that the bug created any random posts, suggesting that the bug is relatively harmless.
However, since accidentally opening the camera poses a huge privacy risk, I think we can all agree that it’s best to play it safe and not let Facebook use your phone’s camera for a while.
To prevent Facebook from accessing your phone’s camera, go to the settings app, then tap Privacy, then Camera. In this menu, make sure Facebook is turned off.
That’s all. Obviously, with the camera turned off, you won’t be able to take pictures via Facebook, but you can still add pictures to posts or stories from your camera.
Update Nov 13, 2019 9:10 am: Added that Facebook has acknowledged the issue and is working to fix it.