Do not open: Devastating 'text bomb' can crash your iPhone

The bug causes iPhones, iPads and Macs to crash, restart and may delete messages.

A devastating "text bomb" that crashes Apple devices has been uncovered by researchers.

It works by sending iPhones, iPads and Macs into a frenzy after a malicious web address is opened in Apple's Message app.

The ChaiOS hack, which causes devices to crash and can delete all your messages, affects any device running iOS and Mac OS, according to the Daily Mail.

A fix for the issue, which is not the first text bomb to hit Apple, has not yet been created but is expected in future updates.

The flaw was discovered by software developer Abraham Masri, based in Chicago, who shared a link which can be used to crash the app on social media.

This redirects the Messages app to a page stored on Github, a hosting service ford computer code, which exploits the bug.

It does so through massively long strings of text information, which overloads the system.

Reported effects include freezing, crashes, restarts and resprings, a process which takes about 10 seconds and returns you to the Lock Screen.

Mr Masri wrote a warning to accompany the link he shared on Twitter, "do not use it for bad stuff," but it seems likely that pranksters and others will make use of the code for malicious purposes.

Technology experts are calling on anyone who comes across the link to refrain from sending it to friends.

Writing on his blog, award-winning computer security expert Graham Cluley said: "Something about the so-called ChaiOS bug's code gives your Apple device a brainstorm.

"Ashamed about the mess it gets itself in, Messages decides the least embarrassing thing to do is to crash.

"Nasty. But, thankfully, more of a nuisance than something that will lead to data being stolen from your computer or a malicious hacker being able to access your files.

"Please don't be tempted to try the text bomb attack out on anyone else - you're not being funny, you're just being a jerk."

The vulnerability is similar to a bug called Effective Power which was first reported in May 2015.

Malicious messages containing the word "Power" as well as Arabic and Marathi characters and the Chinese character meaning "redundant", were sent out.

They also crashed the Messages app, and if an iOS user received the text while their handset was locked the bug would force their phone to reboot.

Social media users at the time complained of being repeatedly sent the message by mischievous friends.