iOS 26.4.2 fixes iPhone security flaw exploited by FBI

Apple just fixed an iPhone vulnerability that was likely used by the FBI to access Signal messages
The update is part of iOS 26.4.2
This is the only named fix included in the update

iOS 26.4.2 is here, and while it doesn’t appear to bring many new features, you should definitely install it anyway, because the named patch likely fixes a flaw that the FBI recently exploited.

Specifically, this update fixes a bug that meant “notifications marked for deletion could be unexpectedly left on the device,” which appears to be a direct response to recent news that the FBI managed to recover Signal messages from someone’s phone, even with the app deleted and incoming messages set to disappear.

The office achieved this by using the iPhone’s push notification database, which always stored notifications of incoming messages from the app.

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(Image credit: Future)

Keep your messages private

While Apple won’t go into detail here, it looks like this update could prevent this from happening with notifications for deleted apps. Certainly, the timing of this update suggests that this is a response to the FBI’s actions.

But even if you think you’ll never find yourself in a situation where law enforcement tries to access your communications, it’s probably worth downloading iOS 26.4.2 just to be safe. It is also possible that other fixes will also be included, which have not been detailed.

You can go to Settings > General > Software Update to manually check for updates if you haven’t already received a notification about it, and the same fix is available for iPads as part of iPadOS 26.4.2.

Keep your messages private

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