A Facebook bug is causing widespread crashes across a swath of iOS apps. The crashes have been reported for Spotify, Bumble, Mario Kart Tour, PUBG Mobile, Tinder, Venmo, and a few others.
The issue isn’t caused by the Facebook iOS app, per se, but rather the Facebook-related features integrated into the affected apps, such as signing in with your Facebook account or using the like and sharing functions.
The bug only affects the iOS versions of these apps. So far, no Android crashes have been reported.
A Facebook representative told Business Insider the company looked into the issue following the surge of the crash report Friday morning. It appears a solution was found, as some of these apps are working again, though some apps may not have the fix as quickly as others.
Dear players, we are glad to inform the previous crashing problem encountered by iOS users has been solved. Thank you for your patience and support in PUBG MOBILE! https://t.co/FEi2waBS4S
— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) July 10, 2020
You can try circumventing the bug by signing in with a different, non-Facebook account when possible. That won’t be a feasible solution for every app, of course, in which case you’ll need to enlist the help of a privacy-focused VPN. According to The Verge, an app like Lockdown can prevent the crashes, as it blocks the Facebook SDK from loading on iOS, period. Lockdown is free and open-source, though it will require you to install and set up a VPN (which is how the app works its magic).
If you don’t want to use an extra app and signing in without Facebook isn’t an option, you’ll need to wait for Facebook and/or the affected apps to fix the problem on their end before you can sign in with your accounts as usual.
This is the second instance of widespread iOS app crashes caused by Facebook since May, so we suggest not signing up for new apps with your Facebook account, in case it happens again. Even if these crashes never occur again, it’s best to never sign into third-party apps using Facebook, Twitter, Google, or other accounts. Sure, using a single login is more convenient, but having separate accounts is better for privacy. You can always use a password manager to keep your credentials safely stored for quick sign-ins.
Comments