Safari JavaScript Bug Discovered in iOS 6

Notice those Smart App Banners that appear when you're visiting a website in Safari on the iPhone? They can be convenient, reminding you that an app is available for download in iOS 6. If you already have the app installed, they will even prompt you to open the app.

Mobile Safari iOS 6

Now it turns out a bug has been discovered, which according to AppleInsider will circumvent user-defined JavaScript settings. The strange behavior is only noticeable if you're in the habit of keeping Settings -> Safari -> JavaScript -> OFF. Once a Smart App Banner appears your JavaScript setting will automatically revert to ON.

This happens without warning and the JavaScript setting will not switch back to OFF unless you go back into Settings and manually adjust. Currently there's no known fix available, although Apple may include a patch for the problem in an upcoming iOS update. The bug has been observed on iOS 6 across the board, on all Apple devices and to date, iOS beta 6.1 does not include a fix.

So should you be worried? Some have cited the JavaScript bug as a potentially dangerous flaw, which overrides the user interface and should not be trusted. In reality, the number of iOS users who keep JavaScript switched off could possibly be counted on one hand. If you are concerned about this Safari bug, we suggest using another web browser on the iPhone, such as Atomic Web or Chrome.