diff --git a/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.h b/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.h
index 8eb108951b..3372039de8 100644
--- a/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.h
+++ b/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.h
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
 @interface WKWebViewConfiguration (Detox)
 
+- (BOOL)shouldDisableWebKitSecurity;
+
 @end
 
 NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_END
diff --git a/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.m b/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.m
index f1bc7f39a3..dabfbe259a 100644
--- a/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.m
+++ b/detox/ios/Detox/Invocation/WKWebViewConfiguration+Detox.m
@@ -7,7 +7,19 @@
 
 @import ObjectiveC;
 
-void WKPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(id, bool);
+
+//void WKPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(id, bool);
+
+
+// Private WebKit API declarations
+typedef struct OpaqueWKPreferences* WKPreferencesRef;
+extern void WKPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(WKPreferencesRef, bool);
+
+
+@interface WKWebView (DetoxSecurity)
+- (instancetype)dtx_initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame configuration:(WKWebViewConfiguration *)configuration;
+@end
+
 
 @interface DTXFakeWKPreferencesRef: NSObject
 @property (nonatomic) void* _apiObject;
@@ -16,29 +28,45 @@ @interface DTXFakeWKPreferencesRef: NSObject
 @implementation DTXFakeWKPreferencesRef
 @end
 
+
 /// Set web-security policy for WebKit (e.g. CORS restriction).
 ///
 /// @note Since we can't access the `WKPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled` directly with
-///  a `WKPreferences*`, we wrap it in a `WKPreferencesRef`, which can be passed to this function.
+///  a `WKPreferences*`, we wrap it in a `WKPreferencesRef` in the getWKPrefsRef function, which can be passed to this function.
 /// This private API is not officially supported on iOS, and generally used for debugging / testing
 ///  purposes on MacOS only. So there's no guarantee that it will work in the future.
 void DTXPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(WKPreferences* prefs, bool enabled) {
-	DTXFakeWKPreferencesRef* fakeRef = [DTXFakeWKPreferencesRef new];
-
-	Ivar ivar = class_getInstanceVariable([WKPreferences class], "_preferences");
-	void* realPreferences = (void*)(((uintptr_t)prefs) + ivar_getOffset(ivar));
-	fakeRef._apiObject = realPreferences;
-
-	WKPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(fakeRef, enabled);
+    if (!prefs) return;
+    
+    if (@available(iOS 18.0, *)) {
+        void *prefsPtr = (__bridge void *)(prefs);
+        WKPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled((WKPreferencesRef)prefsPtr, enabled);
+        
+    } else {
+        DTXFakeWKPreferencesRef* fakeRef = [DTXFakeWKPreferencesRef new];
+        
+        Ivar ivar = class_getInstanceVariable([WKPreferences class], "_preferences");
+        void* realPreferences = (void*)(((uintptr_t)prefs) + ivar_getOffset(ivar));
+        fakeRef._apiObject = realPreferences;
+        WKPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled((__bridge WKPreferencesRef)fakeRef, enabled);
+    }
 }
 
 @implementation WKWebViewConfiguration (Detox)
 
 + (void)load {
+    [self swizzleWKWebViewConfigurationSetPreferences];
+    
+    if (@available(iOS 18.0, *)) {
+        [self swizzleWKWebViewInitWithFrameConfiguration];
+    }
+}
+
++ (void)swizzleWKWebViewConfigurationSetPreferences {
 	static dispatch_once_t onceToken;
 	dispatch_once(&onceToken, ^{
 		Class class = [self class];
-
+		
 		SEL originalSelector = @selector(setPreferences:);
 		SEL swizzledSelector = @selector(dtx_setPreferences:);
 
@@ -46,31 +74,75 @@ + (void)load {
 		Method swizzledMethod = class_getInstanceMethod(class, swizzledSelector);
 
 		BOOL didAddMethod = class_addMethod(class,
-																				originalSelector,
-																				method_getImplementation(swizzledMethod),
-																				method_getTypeEncoding(swizzledMethod));
+											originalSelector,
+											method_getImplementation(swizzledMethod),
+											method_getTypeEncoding(swizzledMethod));
 
 		if (didAddMethod) {
 			class_replaceMethod(class,
-													swizzledSelector,
-													method_getImplementation(originalMethod),
-													method_getTypeEncoding(originalMethod));
+							swizzledSelector,
+							method_getImplementation(originalMethod),
+							method_getTypeEncoding(originalMethod));
 		} else {
 			method_exchangeImplementations(originalMethod, swizzledMethod);
 		}
 	});
 }
 
-- (void)dtx_setPreferences:(WKPreferences *)preferences {
-	if ([self shouldDisableWebKitSecurity]) {
-		DTXPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(preferences, NO);
-	}
++ (void)swizzleWKWebViewInitWithFrameConfiguration {
+	static dispatch_once_t onceToken;
+	dispatch_once(&onceToken, ^{
+		Class wkWebViewClass = [WKWebView class];
+		
+		SEL originalSelector = @selector(initWithFrame:configuration:);
+		SEL swizzledSelector = @selector(dtx_initWithFrame:configuration:);
+
+		Method originalMethod = class_getInstanceMethod(wkWebViewClass, originalSelector);
+		Method swizzledMethod = class_getInstanceMethod(wkWebViewClass, swizzledSelector);
 
-	[self dtx_setPreferences:preferences];
+		BOOL didAddMethod = class_addMethod(wkWebViewClass,
+											originalSelector,
+											method_getImplementation(swizzledMethod),
+											method_getTypeEncoding(swizzledMethod));
+
+		if (didAddMethod) {
+			class_replaceMethod(wkWebViewClass,
+							swizzledSelector,
+							method_getImplementation(originalMethod),
+							method_getTypeEncoding(originalMethod));
+		} else {
+			method_exchangeImplementations(originalMethod, swizzledMethod);
+		}
+	});
+}
+
+- (void)dtx_setPreferences:(WKPreferences *)preferences {
+    if ([self shouldDisableWebKitSecurity]) {
+        DTXPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(preferences, NO);
+    }
+    [self dtx_setPreferences:preferences];
 }
 
 - (BOOL)shouldDisableWebKitSecurity {
-	return [NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults boolForKey:@"detoxDisableWebKitSecurity"];
+    return [NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults boolForKey:@"detoxDisableWebKitSecurity"];
+}
+
+@end
+
+
+@implementation WKWebView (DetoxSecurity)
+
+- (instancetype)dtx_initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame configuration:(WKWebViewConfiguration *)configuration {
+	BOOL shouldDisable = [configuration shouldDisableWebKitSecurity];
+	if (shouldDisable) {
+		if (!configuration.preferences) {
+			configuration.preferences = [[WKPreferences alloc] init];
+		}
+		
+		DTXPreferencesSetWebSecurityEnabled(configuration.preferences, !shouldDisable);
+	}
+	
+	return [self dtx_initWithFrame:frame configuration:configuration];
 }
 
 @end
diff --git a/detox/test/ios/UI/OverlayMessageView.swift b/detox/test/ios/UI/OverlayMessageView.swift
index 18171beac5..0b06d07b6d 100644
--- a/detox/test/ios/UI/OverlayMessageView.swift
+++ b/detox/test/ios/UI/OverlayMessageView.swift
@@ -8,7 +8,14 @@ import UIKit
 @objc class OverlayMessageView: UIView {
     private var timer: Timer?
     private(set) var message: String
-    private let displayDuration: TimeInterval = 2.0
+    
+    private func getDisplayDuration() -> TimeInterval {
+        if #available(iOS 18, *) {
+            return 3.0
+        } else {
+            return 2.0
+        }
+    }
 
     private let messageLabel: UILabel = {
         let label = UILabel()
@@ -72,7 +79,7 @@ import UIKit
     }
 
     private func startTimer() {
-        timer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: displayDuration, repeats: false) { [weak self] _ in
+        timer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: getDisplayDuration(), repeats: false) { [weak self] _ in
             self?.removeFromSuperview()
         }
     }