Samsung investigates photo messaging glitch after images are sent to contacts

[Ulquiorra]

IN A DISTURBING development for anyone with photos on their phone and their boss’s phone number, the world’s largest smartphone maker is investigating claims its handsets have started sending private photos to phone contacts at random.

Reports of the unprecedented fault emerged on Reddit and Samsung help forums this week, with one man claiming his entire photo gallery of at least 50 images had been sent to his girlfriend as he slept.

His phone showed no record of the photo gallery being transferred to his partner’s number, though his provider recorded the action.

The apparent bug has allegedly affected one of Samsung’s newest smartphones, the Galaxy S9+ and S9, as well as the Note 8, which was released last year.

A spokeswoman for Samsung Australia confirmed the company was investigating the problem but had yet to verify if it was a bug and whether Australians could be affected.

“We are aware of the reports regarding this matter and our technical teams are looking into it,” she said.

“We are not aware of any customers in Australia that have experienced this issue.”

In another potentially embarrassing case, a Samsung Note 8 user reported that his scheduled text messages had been sent to the wrong recipients.

Troubleshooters have theorised that the issue, first reported by Gizmodo, may have been caused by an update to the smartphone’s carrier settings, and Samsung’s own Messages app.

Some users have recommended changing the phones’ default SMS service to avoid being caught out by the bug, using Android Messages instead, and revoking Samsung Messages’ permission to access media.