Why You Should Stop Sending Texts From Your Android Messages App

There’s a serious issue that impacts hundreds of millions of Android Messages users worldwide—one that should have been flagged by the huge backlash that suddenly hit WhatsApp in January. But it wasn’t, it gets surprisingly little attention, even though it puts you and your private information at risk. Here’s what you need to know. Android Messages has serious security issues. Getty Great news for Android Messages users this week—you can now schedule texts to automatically send some time later, which, Google says, “will continue improving the way you communicate and help you stay in touch.” According to Google, “half a billion people across the world use Messages to seamlessly and safely connect with family, friends and others every month.” Seamlessly yes. But safely? Maybe not. From almost nowhere, 2021 has seen a belated and welcome focus on the security and privacy—or lack thereof—with the messaging apps we all use daily. WhatsApp has been slammed for the breadth of its data collection and for its back-end links to owner Facebook. Messenger has been outed for various security and privacy infringements. And iMessage has been lauded for further advancements to protect Apple’s userbase. One platform that has seemingly escaped such attention is Google’s Android Messages, which is…
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