Samsung might be pumping out some of the best Android phones in the world right now, but that doesn’t mean that they’re without their flaws. Your Galaxy smartphone may be sending images to random contacts — and even worse, there is no evidence that it even happened.
The issue seemingly stems from a problematic update to the Samsung Messages app, andmultiple users on Reddithave complained thattheir entire galleryhas been sent to certain contacts. Part of the issue is the fact that there’s no indication on the device that anything of the sort has happened — in fact, the only trace of the activity (outside of the messages on the recipient’s phone) can be found in text logs on your carrier account. The issue has been reported on theGalaxy S9,S9 Plus, and theNote 8. At this time, it’s not sure if the issue affects multiple carriers, but it seems that most complaints are with T-Mobile.
But before you scramble to delete any compromising images, you might not need to. While the widespread of devices indicates that any Galaxy device could be affected, it seems that it’s mostly T-Mobile users that are affected by the bug. What’s more, it seems clear from some sleuths onRedditandSamsung’s official forumsthat the messages are only sent to people who are on the same plan. Most messages from affected users (including the original poster) note that the messages haveonly been senttogirlfriends and wives, indicating that it’s shared plans on T-Mobile that may be causing the issue. So unless you’re in that very specific camp, you’re unlikely to be unaffected. It’s most likely the issue is a part of the larger issues reported onSamsung Messages for T-Mobile users.
We reached out to Samsung for comment on this issue, and received this statement in reply: “We are aware of the reports regarding this matter and our technical teams are looking into it. Concerned customers are encouraged to contact us directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG.”
If you want to be on the safe side, then there is a quick way that you can make sure it won’t happen to you. Simply open yourSettingsapp, then hitApps->Samsung Messages>Permissions, and then revoke theStoragepermission. This method will probably make your Samsung Messages app stop working entirely, but there are a bunch ofgreat messaging appsout there, as well as Google’sAndroid Messagesapp that will work until the situation is resolved.
Updated on July 3: We added Samsung’s official statement on the matter.
