Samsung Galaxy Users Creeped Out by Weird Notification

But company says 'Find My Mobile 1' was just a mistake, no big deal
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 20, 2020 1:11 PM CST
Samsung Galaxy Users Creeped Out by Weird Notification
In this Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, file photo is a selection of Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphones during an event in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Samsung Galaxy users worldwide were confused late Wednesday and early Thursday by a notification from "Find My Mobile" that read simply "1" and did nothing when clicked other than disappear. (A Twitter search reveals words and phrases like "creepy," "freaked out," and "mysterious," plus people wondering whether they were being hacked or tracked.) Now, Samsung has clarified this is nothing to be concerned about: "If you received a 'Find My Mobile 1' notification this AM, this was an unintentional message sent as a result of internal testing & there is no effect to your device. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused & will work to prevent this from occurring in the future," the company says in a tweet. Per Android Central, Samsung says it was performing testing at the time to make sure the feature was working.

"This is what happens when you directly test your code on production," theorized a software engineer on Twitter. Find My Mobile is a preinstalled app, Samsung's version of Google's Find My Device or Apple's Find My iPhone, and Android Police reports that some users also reported an oddly high percentage of battery usage by the app around the same time as the notification, though it's not clear whether the two are related. It's also not clear how many users received the notification, but some news outlets were reporting that it affected all Galaxy phones around the globe, whether users had actually registered for the Find My Mobile service or not. "It was just Samsung reminding you that you matter and to have a great day today, because you're #1 in their eyes," joked one Twitter user. Added another, "Samsung should send a '2' push notification to Galaxy phones tomorrow, just to really f--- with everyone." (More Samsung stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X