Safari iOS 7 keeps flashing previously closed tabs upon reopen? Security Problem

I suspect this is an issue with the task switcher.

The system takes a snapshot of each app's screen when it was closed. This snapshot has been used for ages to make app launch appear quicker. The system displays the snapshot, during the time it takes to actually start up the app, faking it to appear as if app launch was instant.

Now, I believe the same snaphshot is used in the task switcher. But with iOS7 for some reason the system screws up the snapshots. It is using a wrong one; not taken from the last view on your screen when minimizing the app. This would explain why the same bug happens with different apps, not only Safari. And of course since it is just a snapshot of the app screen, the system can't know if it happened to be a private mode of an app.

I think you are correct, based upon what I have seen. Also, I think it is connected to having multiple tabs open when you minimize. Doesn't seem to happen as far as I can tell if you do Safari sessions in only one tab. Could be wrong on that, though.

Incredible security flaw - When switching through apps I found my Safari snapshot was presenting a screen where I had renewed a professional license. There was all of my personal information exposed, even though I had days before left that site and cleared history.

happens to me also.

this need a fix URGENT, as it is really annoying

I don't want other people which use the ipad on my house know which sites I did visit !

iPad2 with latest iOS version.

also happens sometime (but not so often) on my iPhone 5S (also latest iOS)

using ipad on privacy mode also does not prevent this!!! big problem!!!

Almost certainly an iOS issue - easily repro'd with Facebook or Notes - but application developers can fix it:

https://viaforensics.com/resources/reports/best-practices-ios-android-secure-mob ile-development/ios-avoid-cached-application-snapshots/

With the announcement of ios8 and no official acknowledgement of this issue that I know off. I feel as though this issue will never be resolved. It's such a shame that we cannot trust Apple's products anymore...

Who knows how many snapshots of how many web pages are being stored on your iOS device? Seems that someone could take these off of your device and be able to see confidential information and track your web history regardless of your security settings due to this egregious security hole. Crazy that the tech press has not publicized this.

Any government agencies have to be crazy to use iOS devices if they have security needs.

Big Breeze wrote:

Who knows how many snapshots of how many web pages are being stored on your iOS device? Seems that someone could take these off of your device and be able to see confidential information and track your web history regardless of your security settings due to this egregious security hole. Crazy that the tech press has not publicized this.

Put a passcode on your device.

It's still happening and they haven't addressed it yet. My father who I don't trust that much at all had my iPad to search something on the internet and it flashed my banking site with my account information and everything. I'm not sure he saw it but still this is a serious problem and could get apple into trouble. I've done everything they said to change it but it still does it.

This same problem is happening to me in the mail app. We need a fix, other than reinstalling the OS soon. Big security issue.

I am also having this problem with my iPad (the retina display one) and I am running iOS 7.1.1

This is a serious security issue.

Guys, the same issue seems to happen to me. It's happened with sensitive emails and other personal documents.

Fortunately,

I HAVE A SOLUTION!

Double-tap Home (or swipe four fingers up on iPad) to open the app switcher. Simply swipe the offending app's card up to close it. This forces the app to reload all data when it's reopened, which doesn't include the page you were last viewing.

While this may be inconvenient, it's the closest thing to a fix there is.

The problem seemed to start with iOS 7 and is the result of the new animations. Most apps will save their last state when going back to the home screen as a result of the Background App Refresh/new multitasking. We need to realize that apps are ever-so-slightly still open when they were quit to the home screen. it's like putting your Mac in sleep mode: it's still on and ready to pick up where you left off, but it consumes much less power.

It's much more common on the iPads because of their bigger screens and different ways of handling animations.

Turning off animations with the Reduce Motion switch in Settings > General > Accessiblity > Reduce Motion *MIGHT* help.

DISCLAIMER: Be sure to test these solutions before relying on them!

I frequently close out all of my apps, to help extend battery life, and I still have this problem in some form. I think closing the apps does reduce the frequency, but doesn't completely cure the problem. With Safari, I think having had multiple tabs open increases your chance of having an image from a closed tab reappear magically, even though it was not the image on the screen when the app was closed.

Based on my experience, there must either be more than one saved image, or else sometimes the most recent screenshot is not saved and the old one remains. It is clear that somehow old images are still there, ones that are not from the last time the app was minimized/closed. There is a glitch that allows them to remain and get displayed.

I would love to know where the images are stored and be able to look at what my iPad is storing. Anyone know how to do this?

In that case, you may want to do a harder force quit on Safari:

1. Hold down the power button until you see "slide to power off"

2. Do not slide to power off

3. Hold the home button down until you see the home screen (the power off screen WILL close in the process)

I believe this purges all previous state data. Again, test this before relying on it!

Some apps will not exit to the home screen and will restart instead, but Safari should go to the home screen.

I don't think there is a way to get the previous snapshots, that is stored in the app's data and probably couldn't be accessed. There is always iExplorer though...

Does the problem occur more or less often when pinching to home with five fingers?

A different snapshot is stored for each orientation for each app. Easy to verify and might explain your observation.

Happened to me 2x this week. This issue is still taking place, and the original flaw was pointed out over 8 months ago. .....wth?