Apple releases urgent bug and security fixes and one cool app in new iOS 17.2 update

Apple has released a new iPhone update that prevents wrongful access to “sensitive user data,” among other urgent security fixes.

The latest software improvement, iPhone Operating System 17.2, comes shortly after two recent rounds of bug fixes relevant to virtual car keys and financial features, among other security worries.

iOS 17.2, which also applies to iPads, patches a flaw that allows apps to access sensitive data, along with fixing a more dangerous Bluetooth security lapse in which an attacker can remotely hijack a user’s keyboard, according to the company.

Issues also arose in the “Find My” features — wherein users can locate their missing devices — in which Apple found that “an app may be able to read sensitive location information.”

Supposedly private internet browsing history was additionally compromised as “tabs may be accessed without authentication” before iOS 17.2.


A new iPhone update contains key security fixes.
A new iPhone update contains key security fixes. Andre M. Chang/ZUMA / SplashNews.com

The quick fixes precede a larger security update that Apple currently has in Beta testing that is designed to prevent iPhone thieves from accessing sensitive user data, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The feature is called Stolen Device Protection and operates when a device is in an unfamiliar location.

It makes users authenticate changes to things like passwords by using either their face or touch ID with intentional hour-long delays as an anti-theft measure.


Apple's latest iOS contains new features and security updates.
Apple’s latest iOS contains new features and security updates. REUTERS

iOS 17.2 also rolled out a new app called Journal, which is meant to inspire users to log their experiences by compiling photos and other stored information as fodder for free writing.

Another feature includes spatial video improvements as well.

The update applies back all models dating back to 2017’s iPhone X and can be easily accessed in “settings” underneath the tab “software update available.”