Critical bug in iOS 18 for messages: All could be deleted

This bug in iOS 18 appears specifically when responding to watch faces shared from an Apple Watch. The feature for sharing personalized watch faces via watchOS can create a critical issue during messaging. In particular, when a user attempts to reply to a shared watch face, the Messages app crashes repeatedly. Even worse, this bug prevents both parties from using the Messages app.

According to a report by 9to5mac, this critical bug is negatively impacting the messaging experience for iOS 18 users and has the potential to lead to data loss. If you are also an iOS 18 user and are messaging using Apple Watch faces, it is advisable to be cautious with sharing and responding processes to avoid this error. While Apple is expected to resolve this issue, being cautious and remembering to back up your device remains the best course of action.

Apple Watch offers the ability to share watch faces in watchOS, and it is possible to send these faces to other users via Messages or Mail. However, this feature brings a serious problem in iOS 18. If a user replies to a shared watch face from their device running iOS 18 using the "title" feature, the application begins to crash repeatedly.

When this bug is triggered, the application closes again and again whenever the user attempts to open that conversation in the Messages app. Furthermore, it becomes impossible to reply to other messages. This negatively impacts the general usage of the Messages app and causes the application to become completely non-functional.

When the error occurs, the Messages app becomes almost impossible to use. The workaround for this issue is to delete the conversation where the error is located. However, this solution may cause you to lose your entire message history and unsaved attachments (photos, videos, etc.). Furthermore, even if you delete the conversation, restoring it from the "Recently Deleted" section in the Messages app causes the error to reappear.

SO, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

This bug is not only seen in iOS 18, but also in iOS 18.1 beta and other beta versions. Similarly, responses given to the watch face in iPadOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1 beta versions also cause the Messages app to crash. Although Apple is working on updates to resolve this bug, for now, users need to be careful to avoid triggering it.

The best way to avoid data loss is to refrain from replying to shared watch faces with a "title." Additionally, regularly backing up your device and not using the iCloud Messages feature can also minimize data loss during this process.

Apple is expected to resolve this bug with future software updates. However, until then, it is advisable to be cautious to avoid triggering this error. In particular, until a patch is released, the safest course of action is to avoid such messages rather than responding to shared watch faces.