Apple patches iOS bug that preserved deleted Signal notifications

Apple released software updates for iPhone and iPad that fix a bug allowing deleted notification content to be retained on devices. The updates are iOS 18.7.8 and iPadOS 26.4.2 and the issue is tracked as CVE-2026-28950.

Apple’s release notes state: “a logging issue was addressed with improved data redaction” and that “notifications marked for deletion could be unexpectedly retained on the device.” The company tied the fix to changes in how notification data is logged and redacted.

In one reported law-enforcement case, forensic tools recovered copies of notification entries after the Signal app had been deleted from a phone. Signal posted on X that “the FBI was able to forensically extract copies of incoming Signal messages from a defendant’s iPhone, even after the app was deleted, because copies of the content were saved in the device’s push notification database.” Signal also noted that users can limit exposure by changing in-app notification settings to hide message previews.

The issue stemmed from the operating system retaining copies of push notification previews in an internal database longer than intended. Push notification previews are handled by the system for delivery to the lock screen and notification center, and those previews can be stored outside of an app’s encrypted data.

Apple’s update addresses the logging and redaction behavior that led to retained entries. The vulnerability does not indicate a failure of an app’s end-to-end encryption for messages stored or transmitted by the app itself, but rather how the system persisted notification text it displayed.

Users can install the update by opening Settings, tapping General, then Software Update. The same screen allows enabling Automatic Updates. Device owners and administrators should confirm devices are running iOS 18.7.8 or iPadOS 26.4.2 or later.

As an additional privacy step, users can limit what appears in system-level notifications. In Signal, for example, open Settings → Notifications and choose to hide message previews or show only the sender’s name to reduce the amount of text delivered to the system notification database.