Apple Patches iOS Flaw Allowing FBI to Extract Deleted Signal Messages

Apple has confirmed patching an iOS security bug that let the FBI pull readable previews of deleted Signal messages from iPhone notification databases, even after app deletion and disappearing messages. The flaw emerged in a 404 Media report on April 9, 2026, from unsealed Texas court documents, prompting Signal's Meredith Whittaker and Telegram's Pavel Durov to urge a fix on April 14. Apple rolled out the update on April 22, backporting it to older iOS 18 versions, ending up to one-month caching of notifications. Market impact remains limited, trimming short-term privacy risks without altering fundamentals.