Apple has a major problem that has suddenly become a front-page storey, casting doubt on the iPhone’s security and privacy credentials. What happens on your iPhone, it turns out, does not always stay on your iPhone.

I’ve already warned about the potentially serious hole in Apple’s iPhone security when it comes to private texts sent among the company’s billion-plus users. Apple claims that “privacy is baked in from the start.” “Strong security mechanisms assist ensure that no one other than you has access to your data.” If only it were that simple. Now, a new warning has surfaced from an unexpected source.

Apple’s default end-to-end encrypted messenger is iMessage. It was created to compete with WhatsApp, and it appears to have the same level of security—though only when communicating within Apple’s ecosystem. If you send a message to an Android user, you’ll get SMS back, which is undesirable in 2021—more on that later.

. Even if you think you’re safe, you’re probably mistaken. There’s a catch with iMessage.