Samsung's privacy policy got a huge setback when threads on Reddit projecting the miseries of Samsung users have seen an upsurge in the past few days.
Troubled Samsung users have been writing to the company's complaint forums and on Reddit regarding a phone glitch that, by the sound of it, seems one of the most potent threats there are to an individual's privacy.
Reportedly, the default text messaging app inbuilt in the sets- Galaxy S9, S9+ and Note 8 has been randomly sending out pictures from users' gallery and premature texts to their contacts without their consent, moreover, the whole action takes place without leaving the traces of the sent messages.
It's only when the receiver responds after acknowledging the received content, the victimized user is made aware of the mishap.
Upon closer inspection of the online complaints by the T-Mobile customers who recently updated Samsung Messages, it is believably deduced that the infamous bug may have been a consequence of the RCS (Rich Communication Services) updates. These updates are supposed to enhance overall texting experience by adding features like reading reports, group chat, video and GIF support, and file and location sharing. As several complaints were regarding the photos been randomly sent to family members, it is likely that the bug affects shared plans.
To ease the concern of their devoted users, Samsung said: "We are aware of the reports regarding this matter and our technical teams are looking into it." Users are welcomed to contact Samsung directly at 1-800- SAMSUNG to seek assistance.
On the instant solution front, users can either switch to an alternate texting app or revoke Samsung Message's permissions to access phone storage. Users are advised to rely on these suggestions until Samsung resolves the bug.
A Reddit user confirms the reliance on alternatives for texting: "Just an FYI, I have an S9+ on T-Mobile, this has not happened to me (at least to my knowledge) and I see nothing unusual in my logs from T-Mobile. I do not use the Samsung messaging app, I use Google's. My Samsung messages app was updated, however, and I thought it was weird when I woke up and it was asking for access to storage out of the blue. I have all permissions for the Messages app off."
