Samsung Messages App Sharing Gallery Content With Contacts Without Permission, Some Users Report

Samsung Messages app reportedly has a bug that is causing some devices to send gallery content to contacts without notifying users. The bug, which has been reported by several users on Reddit, is likely to exist within the latest Samsung Messages update and is largely affecting the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 8 users. While Samsung hasn't yet announced any bug fix to address the issue, a large number of users have recommended a workaround to temporarily put a stop on the circulation of media content from devices. The messaging app that comes as a preloaded offering on Samsung Experience UX provides a bunch of advanced features, including stickers, audio message support, and the options to send multimedia files or share photos and videos directly using the camera. It is designed to take on Apple's Messages and Google's Android Messages.

"[Samsung Galaxy] S9s have been sporadically sending the entire contents of one's gallery to a contact via SMS, and it doesn't show up on your side," one of the affected users warns on Reddit after spotting the bug on a carrier-locked Galaxy Note 8. "Might be worth checking logs on your carrier's site, because it happened on my T-Mobile [Galaxy] Note 8."

A Galaxy S9 user in a separate Reddit thread highlights that the record of the gallery being sent through the buggy Samsung Messages app was found on the carrier logs. "Last night, around 2:30am, my phone sent her [girlfriend] my entire photo gallery over text, but there was no record of it on my Messages app. However, there was [a] record of it on T-Mobile logs," the user said.

As AndroidPolice reported, the issue exists largely for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 8 users, though it is likely to affect other Galaxy smartphone users as well. It appears that the problem comes due to a conflict with the new Shared tab available in the Gallery. However, as a plenty number of users spotted, it can be fixed by disabling storage permissions for the Samsung Messages app. You need to go to Settings > Apps > Samsung Messages > Permissions > Storage to disable storage permissions granted to the app.

It is worth pointing out here that once you've revoked storage permissions, you won't be able to send photos and videos via the Samsung Messages app. Having said that, it is so far the only solution to restrict the sharing of your gallery content.

We've reached out to Samsung for clarity on the issue and will update this space accordingly. Meanwhile, it is recommended to revoke storage permissions on the Samsung Messages app and switch to an alternative, such as the Android Messages app, in case if you're facing the issue on your Galaxy device.