Want to annoy your friends? A new bug within Apple's Messages app can crash a message recipient's phone with just a few characters.
As reported by MacRumors last night, a specific string of symbols and Arabic characters sent to an iPhone will crash the smartphone.
The blog said the problem is more annoying than harmful. Its main purpose appears to be rebooting a phone and, in some cases, keeping a person out of the Messages app.
According to a Reddit user, the problem is related to how banner notifications process Unicode text. "The banner briefly attempts to present the incoming text and then 'gives up,' thus the crash," the user wrote.
Apple confirmed the glitch. "We are aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of Unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update," the company said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal.
If the message hits your phone, MacRumors has a few solutions, like sending a reply message if your app will open, or composing a message to yourself via Siri or the Notes app if it won't.
The blog tried it out an iPhone running iOS 8.3, though the Journal said it could be executed on older versions of the mobile OS, too.
If you're feeling devious, it might take some work. The Journal said it took 24 tries to pull off a reboot, while The Guardian patiently plugged away 50 times before making it work.
Now might be a good time to review the video below, which guides you through blocking a phone number.