Urgent warning to iPhone users over troubling ‘glitch’ that exposes browser history when you hold your device a certain way

By James On Nov 5, 2024

An embarrassing problem has surfaced again on the iPhone, judging by the online complaints: a bug that pulls up old Internet searches that many would like to keep private.

Some Apple users are finding that their devices are displaying old adult content at unwanted times, despite their best efforts to clear their browser history, tabs and cookies, even after ensuring they view risqué content only in ‘incognito mode’.

“I have a newish iPhone and this is happening,” one Apple fan admitted. ‘Old porn video stuck in Firefox preview mode, only happens in landscape [mode] although.’

Another user shared horror stories about their iPhone showing old adult content while “people looked over my shoulder as I showed them something.”

“My mother was one of them,” the iPhone owner said posted to Reddit with crying emoji.

The glitch echoes recent warnings about Apple’s Mirroring feature, which security experts advised this month could inadvertently share users’ private data with others, especially when activated on work-issued iPhones, iPads and other devices.

The resurgence of these two horrifying privacy issues could be linked to the rollout of Apple’s new iOS 18 operating system, which has brought with it a slew of annoying issues, including reports of iOS 18.1 inexplicably draining the battery.

A fatally embarrassing problem has resurfaced on the iPhone, judging by complaints online. “I have a newish iPhone and this is happening,” one Apple fan admitted last September. ‘Old porn video stuck in Firefox preview mode’

“I’m afraid of other people looking at or holding my phone or iPad,” said an Apple customer who reported owning an iPhone 11 posted on Reddit two years ago.

‘Many people have mentioned a similar problem with Safari [Apple’s browser] but no solutions. How do I prevent this from happening!!!!’ asked the user, baka-420. ‘I have cleared all cookies and history components etc. This does not solve the problem.’

But just two months ago, this inactive thread came back to life with new posts about the glitch affecting shamed users of much more current iPhone models.

“This has happened to me on several phones over the years,” said one embarrassed user, Secret_Account07, posted in mid-September. “Nothing I did could get rid of it.”

‘IDK [I don’t know] Why Apple can’t fix this: iOS clearly saves the image in landscape mode,” the user continued.

‘It has been going on for years and it is not a complex issue that requires a team of engineers […] Apple please fix this,” the user begged.

This more recent iPhone owner told the group that eventually, after much trial and error, they were able to resolve the problem by “uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox.”

But even when some sort of makeshift solution was available, many of these iPhone users were still outraged: “It’s a problem that can lead to very inappropriate things.” Imagine a child using your phone or showing something on your phone.”

Just two months ago, an inactive thread alert for this ‘glitch’ resurrected on Reddit with new reports of the problem plaguing embarrassed users of much more modern iPhones

The resurgence of these two terrible privacy issues could be linked to the rollout of Apple’s new iOS 18 operating system, which has brought with it a slew of annoying issues, with some saying iOS 18.1 is inexplicably draining their battery.

Another concerned iPhone owner speculated that there might be something more malicious going on than a simple bug or glitch.

“I have exactly the same problem,” they said. ‘It’s super strange. I wonder if it’s some kind of virus? I don’t know, but it doesn’t make sense why it would flash a porn site, when I don’t even have a porn site in any of my tabs.”

While Apple has yet to comment on the issue, tech industry watchers have said the issue appears to be related to an individual iPhone’s cached images.

In some cases, the unwanted images seem to pop up when users swipe up to switch from one app to another.

For those who browse the web using Chrome and Firefox, deleting and redownloading your web browser seems to be the most foolproof way to solve the problem.

But unfortunately, that solution doesn’t work with Apple’s built-in Safari browser.

The best way to erase Cached images on anything running Safari through Apple’s iOS – be it a laptop, desktop, iPad or iPhone – is to routinely delete your internet history.

The process is a bit of a hassle, though Apple’s easy-to-follow instructions are available online.

One way to clear your cached images is to first go to Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data, then select “Cached images and files.”

Or, to clear your history directly from Safari and for Safari only, tap the Bookmark button in the Safari app, tap the History (clock) button, then tap Clear.

However, Apple advises users to be careful if they have different profiles in their Safari browser, as is common on the family iPad: ‘If you have set up Safari profiles, select a profile to clear the history of that profile only, or select All Profiles.’

How to install iOS 18.1: New update includes Apple Intelligence

To install iOS 18.1, open the Settings app. Then navigate to General and tap Software Update.

It will take a few seconds for your phone to check for new updates, and if the update is available, you should see it appear on your screen.

Then tap Install Now. If you see Download and Install instead, tap it to download the update, enter your passcode, and then tap Install Now.

Once iOS 18 is installed, you’ll need to join the Apple Intelligence waitlist.

To do that, go to Settings, tap Apple Intelligence and Siri, then tap “Apple Intelligence Waitlist.”

You will be notified when Apple Intelligence is ready to activate on your iPhone. Once activated, the AI functions will start downloading.

These include intelligent writing tools that let you proofread, rewrite, and summarize text anywhere you can write words, like Mail, Notes, Messages, and other apps.

The proofreading feature suggests better words to use and corrects grammatical errors.

With rewriting options you can make your text sound friendlier, more concise or more professional.

And by summarizing, Apple Intelligence can read your text and create a short summary of the most important points.

The Photos app also gets a new Cleanup feature that lets you quickly erase any unwanted object from a photo.

For example, if someone enters the background of your selfie, you can remove the photobomb by tapping on it.

The update says goodbye to mindless searching in the Photos app by letting users enter keywords to find specific images, such as “Mom in front of the Eiffel Tower.”

You can also create a custom memory movie in Photos with Apple Intelligence.

To do that, you just have to enter a description and the AI will find the best matching photos and videos and then arrange them into a movie with its own storyline.

The launch version of Apple Intelligence will also come with productivity features. The AI can summarize notifications from multiple apps, including Messages, Mail, and more. It also prioritizes notifications that require your immediate attention.

With the new Focus Interruption Reduction feature, your iPhone can intelligently notify you of important notifications and mute unimportant notifications.

And the Mail app gets a priority messaging feature that sorts important emails at the top of your inbox.

Siri is getting a whole host of upgrades. In addition to the flashy new interface, the digital assistant will come equipped with a new level of intelligence and capabilities to help it complete tasks for you.

The bot has new product knowledge that allows it to answer questions about your device’s features and settings. You can even ask for help while you’re learning to do something new on your iPhone, and Siri will give you instructions.

It will also be easier to interact with Siri thanks to a more natural voice and the ability to type requests to the bot instead of relying solely on voice activation.

Siri can also remember requests you’ve made in the past and use them to provide answers to new requests.

These are just a handful of the full suite of Apple Intelligence features that will eventually come to iPhones.

Most of the features that have made headlines since Apple first announced the AI in June are still months in the making – and some are scheduled for 2025.