Prank website address causes iPhones to instantly crash

It really works, so don’t think about clicking it just to see
Don't click it: a website link is circulating that will cause iPhones to crash
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Ben Travis25 January 2016

As miraculous as iPhones are, they’re not invulnerable to glitches – or prank websites.

The latest one to circulate is a website that causes Apple’s Safari to crash – and on iPhones it not only renders the device temporarily inert, it also causes it to heat up as it struggles to cope with the site’s coding.

Handily titled Crash Safari, the site overloads the brower’s URL bar with text, and causes iPhones to reboot.

It’s not just Apple products that are affected either – it’s not recommended to open the site on Android devices or PC browsers, as it still causes slow performance.

While many will obviously want to avoid clinking on the offending link, that might be easier said than done – pranksters are already taking to disguising the URL through link-shortening sites and spreading them on social media or via messages.

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So remember – if a long lost frenemy pops up on Whatsapp linking to a site and saying “YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS”, you’re probably best to err on the side of caution.

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