Reliable tech sources are reporting that the stock messages application on Samsung Galaxy phones is sending out private photos to random contact without user’s knowledge. Smartphones have replaced digital cameras as the primary source of taking quick snaps. Most phones these days have stock photo apps where images and photos are saved automatically once given the permission by the device owner. This also places enormous responsibility on tech companies to ensure that these private photos remain safe from unauthorized access. If this latest report doing rounds is true, it’s going to mire the South Koran electronic company in another PR disaster.
Smartphone users save all kinds of photos on their devices these days. Not all of them are suitable for sharing with others on social media, contacts or third-party applications; some prefer to keep private/intimate pictures reserved only for themselves. However, this might just be happening to the owners of Samsung Galaxy phones and without their permission.
Samsung’s official forums on Reddit are abuzz with this unfortunate news. A sizable number of users are reporting that they have been receiving unsolicited pictures without them knowing anything about it. It seems that the photo sharing feature of the stock messages app has completely broken down, which is sending these unwarranted images via a mysterious delivery system. The messages appear to have been sent via the Samsung Messages app, but it’s unknown whether the SMS or MMS is responsible.
The main issue relates to when the images are shared to contacts via the Messages app without anyone actually involved in any such action. Samsung has officially acknowledged the issue in a statement put out via The Verge. The company is suggesting that the affected users should contact Samsung directly via 1-800-SAMSUNG. Apparently the main devices impacted by the problem are the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ although the likelihood of others may not be ruled out.
Initial reports put blame on T-Mobile and its recent RCS which was recently released. This feature adds to the conventional SMS standard which makes it possible to read receipts and typing notifications. As expected, T-Mobile is fighting back by pointing finger at Samsung saying that users should check in with Samsung on this, it’s not a T-Mobile issue.
For now, the quick way to ensure safety of your photos is to revoke storage permissions from the Samsung Messages app while the company digs into the matter in order to come up with a solution..
