TechTheDay

A recent bug discovered in the Google App and in the Google Assistant had people all a bit panicky again. This is because that the bug was demonstrated to be able to display the phone’s most recent text messages. Reddit users have discovered this glitch this week and soon tests were made. Big name phones, like Samsung and LG, have all displayed the same behavior. However, iOS is immune to the said glitch. They also discovered that typing “vizela viagens” and variations of it have the same result.

Google Bugs

Image Source: https://news.softpedia.com/news/the-strange-1975-bug-on-android-shows-sms-texts-in-google-search-521339.shtml

Google Assistant has a feature wherein the assistant will show you your recent text messages. It can read and respond to the text messages for you which is an efficient way of communicating especially when you are driving.

But this system can actually list your text messages when you enter certain phrases in the Google Search bar. According to Krizastro, a Reddit user, he accidentally types “the1975..com” and instead of seeing an error message, he saw a list of his stored messages.

What is still unclear is whether this bug will work when your phone is locked since some users activated Google Assistant for voice commands. Google often hides Easter eggs thru its Android system and it is often used for fun but this one seems to be left open when it is not necessary.

When tried on an iOS device, the browser will simply show normal web search results which is supposed to be displayed on Android phones too. Typing those term in Google Assistant on iPhones will only give you a response saying “I can’t read text messages yet.” So no worries for iOS users.

Google eventually got wind of the situation and explained that it was some kind of language detection bug. A Google representative explained that they are aware of the bug, where the Google Search app takes certain phrases and mistaken them for requests to view the user’s most recent text messages. “A fix for this bug has been implemented and will roll out over the next few days,” The representative added.

Thankfully, the bug only works for the user who allows Google to access their mobile device contacts. If you did not permit Google, then the bug will not take effect but instead Google users will see a request prompt. You also don’t have to worry about strangers seeing your messages due to this bug since it will only display your personal messages. However, seeing series of text messages when you don’t ask for it is still crazy.

As of the moment, it is still not clear if this glitch was intentional or a mere accident that gives Google the ability to access stored messages in mobile devices. Google has not issued any other statement aside from the one above.

How to get protect your phone from this bug?

Image Source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/45032638/how-to-get-permission-for-read-service-sms-in-miui-8-programmatically

For those who are concerned about the security and privacy of their messages, you can easily protect yourself by going to Settings then click on the Apps option. Revoke the SMS permission on your Google app and you’re good to go.