A newly discovered bug can cause iPhones and iPads to briefly crash when you type a particular sequence of characters. Security researchers found that entering “”:: followed by any fourth character in the App Library or Settings app can cause the iPhone’s home screen interface, known as Springboard, to crash.
TechCrunch notes that typing “”: followed by any additional character triggers the bug, indicating it’s related to the initial three characters. iOS security researchers have confirmed that this issue is not a security threat and there is no evidence suggesting that anyone other than the device owner could exploit this bug.
We tested this issue on multiple iPhones running iOS 17 and the iOS 18 beta. On iOS 17, entering these characters in the Settings app search field causes the app to crash. In the App Library, typing the characters crashes Springboard, resulting in a black screen for 1-2 seconds. However, the characters have no effect in Spotlight search. On iOS 18, the characters do not cause a respring but instead briefly close and reopen the Settings app. Spotlight search freezes momentarily but does not crash.
It’s important to note that this crash or respring is not a full reset, so it won’t delete your data. Your iPhone will resume normal functionality after a few seconds. Additionally, this bug does not seem to affect any apps or features on your device. It’s not as severe as previous character bugs that caused widespread issues through Messages, allowing users to repeatedly crash others’ iPhones. Regarding this bug, users are unlikely to encounter it frequently, as it requires intentionally typing “”:: on their iPhones or iPads.
Apple has not yet commented on this issue. If it becomes more widespread, Apple will likely address it in a future iOS update.
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