Overview
- Apple, which released the fixes Thursday, says improved data masking now blocks leftover notification content, and Signal said the update clears any messages that were kept by mistake.
- Investigations found iPhones saved the full text from push alerts in a separate notification store even after a chat was deleted or an app was removed.
- Court records reported by 404Media show the FBI recovered deleted Signal messages by pulling that notification data after gaining physical access to a device.
- The updates cover iPhone 11 and newer with iOS 26.4.2, while iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max get the same protection through iOS 18.7.8, with iPadOS updates available for supported iPads.
- Users should install the update now or hide message previews on the lock screen on older builds, and Apple’s renewed support for iOS 18 broadens protection in light of rising spyware threats.