Apple is fixing an iOS 9 bug that breaks links in Safari and other apps

The release of iOS 9.3 apparently triggered a bug in Apple’s mobile OS that causes links to stop working in Safari and other apps. According to 9to5Mac, Apple now says it’s working on a fix, issuing the following statement: “We are aware of this issue, and we will release a fix in a software update soon.” As far as bugs go this one is annoying if you’re affected, but minor in terms of its affect on Apple’s entire userbase. Although reports of the bug spiked after the release of iOS 9.3, it seems to affect older versions of the OS too.

Mobile developer Ben Collier has a comprehensive run-down of what the bug might be here. He notes that the problem likely stems from Universal Links — a feature new to iOS 9 that lets developers connect URLs to specific apps (so when you click on a story from The Guardian, for example, it opens up in The Guardian’s app). It seems that some apps (including Booking.com’s) listed too many links to be associated with them, which overloaded iOS. There are a couple of temporary fixes you can try — including restarting your device and turning off Javascript — but you’ll have to wait for the update from Apple to stamp out this particular bug for good.

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