---
title: "Apple fixes bug police used to extract deleted messages from iPhones"
description: "Notifications for deleted messages stayed on devices for up to a month. The FBI used this to recover deleted Signal messages."
url: https://kurddevelopers.com/en/news/apple-fixes-notification-bug-deleted-messages
language: en # English
type: news
published: 2026-04-22T19:13:00.000Z
updated: 2026-11-02T03:18:58.000Z
author: "Osamah Ismail"
author_url: https://kurddevelopers.com/en/author/1
section: "Security"
tags: ["Apple","iPhone","Signal","privacy","security"]
sources: ["Apple Support","TechCrunch","404 Media"]
image: https://kurddevelopers.com/uploads/2026/11/wwdc24-ios18-homescreen-01-a7e4385d.jpg
translations:
  ku: https://kurddevelopers.com/news/apple-fixes-notification-bug-deleted-messages
  ar: https://kurddevelopers.com/ar/news/apple-fixes-notification-bug-deleted-messages
publisher: Kurd Developers
publisher_url: https://kurddevelopers.com/
---

# Apple fixes bug police used to extract deleted messages from iPhones

> Notifications for deleted messages stayed on devices for up to a month. The FBI used this to recover deleted Signal messages.

![Image: Apple](https://kurddevelopers.com/uploads/2026/11/wwdc24-ios18-homescreen-01-a7e4385d.jpg)

## What happened
On April 22, Apple released an update for iPhone and iPad fixing a significant bug: the content of **notifications** for deleted or disappearing messages was kept on the device for up to **a month**.

Apple's security notice said "notifications marked for deletion could be unexpectedly retained on the device."

## Why it matters
According to 404 Media, the **FBI** used this to extract deleted **Signal** messages from iPhones.

Signal president Meredith Whittaker said: "Notifications for deleted messages shouldn't remain in any OS notification database."

## What to do
- Update your iPhone.
- The fix was also backported to **iOS 18**.

**Sources:** Apple Support, TechCrunch, 404 Media

---

Published by [Kurd Developers](https://kurddevelopers.com/) on 2026-04-22. Cite as: “Apple fixes bug police used to extract deleted messages from iPhones”, Kurd Developers, https://kurddevelopers.com/en/news/apple-fixes-notification-bug-deleted-messages