Gray box whilst typing in Facebook on iPhone

TaToTaKo wrote:

I have the same issue the last few weeks and it is annoying

happens only on facebook.

if and when someone knows how to get rid of it please let us know so we can remove that .

[Edited by Moderator]

This is what happens when you don't take the time to read past the first post. Had you done so, you'd already know that all you have to do is update the Facebook app as Meta, the parent company of Facebook acknowledged the issue and issued an app update last week, which fixes this.

carolefromwarrington wrote:

I’ve been in touch with Apple today , she went through some settings with me. I ended up having to re-install the FB app , which seems to have sorted it?, whether that’s just temporary I don’t know?. But she said they are aware of it and trying to fix it??. But every time we get software updates it always messes stuff up!! Why can’t they just leave it alone???

I don't think you're getting it. Deleting and reinstalling the app, happened to give you the updated App, Facebook released a couple days ago. That has NOTHING to do with Apple, nor does Apple have any way to fix the Facebook app. You might have gotten this had you read pasts the first post however. You could have, by the way, updated your Facebook app a couple days ago when Facebook released it, which likely would have resolved this for you.

TrueNorth2010 wrote:

Update Facebook. It was a bug that didn’t get along with the latest iOS update. Facebook has fixed the glitch to support iOS 18.

It was simply a bug in Facebook introduced in one of their updates on March 1. Facebook has supported iOS 18 since September without that problem. The previous 10 updates of Facebook in just the last month supported iOS 18 as well. I know it says that in the version history, but it says the same thing for every update they have. The latest iOS update to 18.3.1 was on February 10, so saying it did not get along with the latest iOS update is far from accurate, with the 10 updates in between that time that did not have that problem.

https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/03/06/gray-box-facebook/

“Tracy Clayton, a spokesperson for Facebook's parent company, Meta, said the gray boxes were "the result of a bug in a version of Facebook for iOS that was introduced on March 1."

"A fix has been submitted to the App Store and should be going out in the coming days," Clayton said. "No sense yet on how widely this is occurring." “

First of all, Apple doesn't participate in this user to user only forum. So you won't see any response from Apple here.

Secondly, why would you expect Apple to have any response about an App they don't own, nor one they have ANY control over and can't fix. Facebook would sue Apple if Apple attempted to fix Meta's buggy Facebook app.

Thirdly, Meta has already made a statement about their app and acknowledges they need to fix it. In fact Meta released an update a couple days ago, which may have already fixed their app. Have you updated to the latest Facebook app?

So no, you won't be getting a statement from Apple about this here or anywhere else.

jbk4322 wrote:

Thanks to the person that responded with the correction for the gray box problem! I updated my Facebook, Insta, & messenger app (everything Meta). It worked!

Thank you😊

Great Job! It is refreshing to have a user read the posts and actually follow the recommendations provided for a successful solution.

Apple has nothing to do with updating Meta Apps and Meta had even acknowledged that it was a problem from an update that they introduced, yet I am sure we will still see posts here claiming that Apple is doing it. I do understand that Meta has terrible customer support and no forum like this for their users to share any issues, so that just leaves them to come here and make the false claim that it is an Apple problem.

TaToTaKo wrote:

I posted here earlier about this issue if someone knows how to remove it let me know.

i will now add an screenshot

this is the annoying gray box

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/470257af-a5d8-4f25-9b0e-39935912caec

You do need to read the posts, you can use the Sort By option that you see above the posts here and if you choose "Newest", you will see the most recent responses including the one from your other post. In addition the answer has been provided many times here is and not an Apple issue. Those that updated the Facebook app have seen it resolved with the latest Facebook update, but as with any issue you are having with Facebook, it is Meta that will have to be the one to provide a fix. I understand Meta support is terrible, so users turn to the Apple Support, but truly there is nothing Apple can do about it.

ritturiam wrote:

So what is the solution for the gray box when typing/commenting on FB or elsewhere????

If you read past the first post as you should have, the solution is Meta, the parent company of Facebook, released an update to fix this a couple weeks ago. Update the app.

Update Facebook. It was a bug that didn’t get along with the latest iOS update. Facebook has fixed the glitch to support iOS 18.

jbk4322 wrote:

Can we get a response from Apple technicians about this gray box problem? I would like to stop this from happening. It is very annoying not to be able to see what I am writing!

You already got a response from Meta saying it was from a bug they introduced in the March 1st update of the Facebook app. There is nothing Apple can do to fix Meta's problems. Did you read the posts here? Meta also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, all of which uses similar code.

Facebook updated the app last week that resolved the problem after they had previously acknowledged that it was a bug they had introduced into the app on March 1st. Your app updates are being done automatically, so you were most likely not aware that you had received the update. There were 10 updates to Facebook in just the last month including one done yesterday.

As with any issue with Facebook, you should contact Meta for support. There is nothing Apple can do to update the Facebook app to resolve any problem.

carolefromwarrington wrote:

But she said they are aware of it and trying to fix it??. But every time we get software updates it always messes stuff up!! Why can’t they just leave it alone???

Apple may be aware that Meta has a problem with app and are trying to fix it, but it is not the iOS update that is causing the problem. That would be one of the 10 updates in the last month by Meta. If you think about it, that is 1 in every 3 days and most likely would also coincide with any singular iOS update, where you would think that is the reason. App updates happen in the background by default and you are not notified of those updates like you are with an iOS update, so you are not aware when those have occurred.

Don't take my word for it, here is the statement provided by a Meta Spokesperson:

In an emailed statement, Tracy Clayton, a spokesperson for Facebook's parent company, Meta, said the gray boxes were "the result of a bug in a version of Facebook for iOS that was introduced on March 1."

https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/03/06/gray-box-facebook/

Fruit_O_Cup wrote:

Today is 03/05/25

my iPhone 13 just started doing this yesterday or the day before. Never has happened before. I thought my comments on Facebook wouldn’t be seen was my first thought.

oh and this only happens when commenting on ppl’s posts. Very odd and kind of annoying. @apple ? What’s up with this ??

You mustn't have read past the first post, so you clearly don't know Apple isn't responsible for the Facebook app. Facebook is responsible for their App. Apple can't fix it at all. If you want help, contact Facebook as they and only they can fix their app.

Clemmiez wrote:

All posts; both comments on friends pages & answering a comment on my own page. Getting it with iPhone 15pro and an ipad with a keyboard case for faster typing. Seems it’s an Apple thing, not android.. but who’s going to fix it?

I can only assume you have read the posts here. With that, you would have saw that Facebook admitted to the bug that was introduced in their iOS app on March 1. To me that makes it crystal clear who would need to solve the problem as Meta has already said it will be fixed in an update to the Facebook app. Feel free to contact Meta for more information as there is nothing that Apple can do to update the Facebook app.

Along w/ many others, I reported this 2 weeks ago using both iPhone 12 and iMac along w/ the scrolling for "Reels" not working. It was also reported that FB was aware and was releasing a fix.

Late last week I deleted FB from my "Favorites" and then reloaded it. Both problems - the gray box and the reels scrolling issue - correct themselves with the new installation. So, worked for me - Good luck to all.