{
  "id": 4629343,
  "title": "Google Messages has a bizarre bug that’s sending old texts to random people",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/google-messages-has-a-bizarre-bug-thats-sending-old-texts-to-random",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-31T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Android Authority",
    "slug": "android-authority",
    "url": "https://www.androidauthority.com/google-messages-old-texts-bug-3704732/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Google's messaging app, Messages, has encountered a perplexing issue that is sending out old texts to random recipients. Users on both Pixel and Samsung devices have reported this peculiar bug, sparking significant privacy concerns. In some instances, these resurrected messages appear alongside new texts or images, confounding users and raising alarm bells about data security.\n\nThe bug has been a source of frustration for Google Messages, which has recently gained traction with the introduction of custom chat themes and the ability to copy text selectively. However, the recent series of bugs has overshadowed these welcome updates, casting a shadow over the app's overall performance.\n\nApart from the erratic RCS messaging and conversations fragmenting into multiple threads, users have now discovered a more alarming problem. Messages seems to be pulling up old texts from unrelated conversations and attaching them or sending them with new messages. Reddit reports echo the same distressing scenario: initiating a new chat only to find an obscure message from a completely different chat, sometimes spanning months or even years.\n\nThe stray text may sometimes come bundled with an image or a group message, while in other instances, the old message seems to reach the unintended recipient. This unforeseen glitch has left users bewildered and concerned about the potential ramifications of their personal data being exposed through this unsettling glitch.",
  "summary": "Old conversations are allegedly resurfacing in places they definitely shouldn’t.",
  "key_points": [
    "Google Messages bug sends old texts to random recipients.",
    "Users on Pixel and Samsung devices report privacy concerns.",
    "Stray messages include images or group chats from years ago."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}