iPhone Safari crashes when entering three specific letters in a search

Some users typing three-letter words such as "bes", "wal" or "tar" into the address bar have been experiencing the iPhone's Safari browser crashing, which may be caused by a server-side issue with Google.

Multiple reports from users describe a strange bug that causes Safari to crash every time a specific search term is entered. The words appear to be the first letters of retail chains such as Best Buy or Target, but otherwise no pattern emerges.

This error is not replicated by everyone, so it appears to be some sort of server-side issue for those affected. The error occurs when opening the Safari browser and typing "wal", "bes", or "tar" into the address bar. In some cases, Safari crashes without further input, or crashes while typing a space.

The users reporting the problem appear to be from California and Florida. They also seem to be using the Google search engine on Safari on their iPhones.

Apple has not yet responded to this bug or provided a solution. Users experiencing this issue can install a different browser or use an alternative search engine to prevent the Safari browser from crashing until a fix for this issue is fully rolled out.

Since this appears to be a server-side issue, it will be up to Apple or Google to implement a fix. As of 2:26 p.m. EST, the issue appears to be slowly fixing itself. It is unclear if this is an Apple or Google related issue, and neither has spoken.