In the latest instance of iOS 14’s beta mode tattling on unexpected app behavior, some users reported that they were seeing the green “camera on” indicator while using Instagram when they were just scrolling through their feeds, not taking a photo or video.
An Instagram spokesperson said in an email to The Verge that the behavior was a bug and that it’s being fixed. The app’s Create Mode is accessible from the Instagram camera which could set off the camera indicator, and swiping into the app’s Camera from Feed may also trip it up.
The statement goes on:
“We only access your camera when you tell us to — for example, when you swipe from Feed to Camera. We found and are fixing a bug in iOS 14 Beta that mistakenly indicates that some people are using the camera when they aren’t,” the spokesperson said. “We do not access your camera in those instances, and no content is recorded.”
This comes on the heels of other apps being caught pulling data from the clipboard in the background. Like those cases, Instagram is either an example of poor programing or something far worse. Given Facebook’s history, I don’t feel inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.1
Look, it's just like I "accidentally" spent 3 hours playing Pokémon last night. I'm gonna fix the issue too
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) July 25, 2020
- This is made even more … interesting… give the somewhat widespread belief that both Facebook and Instagram are “listening” to users. Many have had the experience of talking about a product and then seeing that product advertised in one of the apps. Instagram and Facebook leaders have repeatedly said that the apps are not listening to users, but again, I find a short supply of grace in my heart for this company. ↩