TL;DR
  • Some Google Messages users say old texts from unrelated conversations are unexpectedly resurfacing.
  • Reports span multiple Pixel and Samsung phones.
  • In some cases, those messages appear to be sent alongside new texts or images, raising serious privacy concerns.

Google Messages is getting some welcome attention with custom chat themes and selective text copying finally becoming available, but the app’s recent run of bugs is taking some shine off those additions. Besides broken RCS messaging and conversations turning into multiple threads, users are reporting a more worrying problem: Messages appears to be pulling old texts from unrelated conversations and attaching or sending them with new messages.

Several Reddit reports describe the same basic nightmare. A user starts a new conversation, only for Messages to insert a message from a completely different chat, sometimes from months or even years ago. In some cases, the stray text appears alongside a photo or group message. In others, users say the old message actually reaches the unintended recipient.