If you have an iPhone, Apple is urging you to update it today with the firm’s latest software fix. The tech giant has pushed out iOS 18.0.1 overnight with several bug fixes including one that fixes a worrying glitch that could read your private passwords out loud.

That means if your iPhone is on an older version of iOS and you use Apple’s VoiceOver feature, a screen reader tool that can read messages and other text for users, it’s possible it will read your passwords out loud - hardly very secure.

"This update provides important bug fixes and security updates for your iPhone," Apple said in its Software Update notes.

The new update, which is available for all iPhones released since 2018, also fixes a problem where when sending Audio messages in the Messages app, your phone could possibly “capture a few seconds of audio before the microphone indicator is activated”, Apple said.

Not only would this bug be annoying as clips would include extra audio, there’s the risk of sending embarrassing recordings to friends and family of you saying something unrelated or confusing.

Apple said the update, which is also available for iPads, also fixes the following bugs:

• Touch screen may be temporarily unresponsive in certain circumstances on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models
• Camera may freeze when recording macro mode video on the Ultra Wide camera in 4K with HDR turned off on iPhone 16 Pro models
• Messages may unexpectedly quit when replying to a message with a shared Apple Watch face
• Performance may be impacted due to an issue with memory allocation on some iPhone models

To check if your phone is up to date or to manually download and install iOS 18.0.1, head to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tap General, then Software Update.

"Apple’s latest OS updates – including iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 – contain a significant number of patches addressing critical vulnerabilities that put users and organisations at risk,” said Suzan Sakarya, Senior Manager, EMEIA Security Strategy at security firm Jamf.

“Whilst we’ve yet to see these vulnerabilities being exploited in real attacks, it’s important that users update their Apple devices to iOS 18.0.1,” she said of the VoiceOver and Messages audio bugs. “Keeping up to date with the latest patches is one of the most effective ways to safeguard devices against attackers."