Apple disables Walkie Talkie app after flaw revealed

Jul. 11--If you have an Apple Watch, for the time being you can forget about using it to communicate like Dick Tracy used to when he would speak into the device he wore on his wrist.

The tech titan has disabled the Apple Watch's Walkie Talkie app, a two-way communication app, after finding a flaw that could potentially allow someone to listen in on calls through an iPhone without permission or knowledge. Walkie Talkie, which came as part of Apple's watchOS 5 upgrade last year, allows Apple Watch users to make calls using a version of Facetime Audio as opposed to making a traditional phone call.

Apple said in a statement that it was "just made aware of a vulnerability related to the Walkie Talkie app on the Apple Watch and have disabled the function as we quickly fix the issue."

The company didn't say when it expected the matter to be resolved, but that as of now it is "not aware of any use of the vulnerability against a customer."

It was the second time this week that Apple moved to disable an app due to a potential security breach. On Wednesday, Apple began sending out updates to remove the web server software of Zoom Video Communications from its Macs after a accessibility flaw that could let a person access someone's Mac webcam was discovered in the Zoom app.

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