This Google Messages bug is making messages vanish, and it's not just Samsung phones

Switching to Google Messages has become the new hot topic due to Samsung's decision to close down the Samsung Messages app — but users may want to take careful steps, because a bug is causing messages in Google Messages to vanish (via PhoneArena).

While early reports showed that only Samsung phones were affected by this bug, the issue now seems to have spread to other Android phones as well, making this a very worrying bug for everyone.

New and old messages are disappearing as people watch

Changing messaging apps should be a relatively straightforward process. However, it's turning out to be anything but for a number of people. According to a number of Reddit and Google support posts, messages are simply ... disappearing.

There seems to be little rhyme or reason as to which messages disappear and which don't. Numerous accounts say that while they've watched new messages vanish, older messages are also gone.

People have tried a number of usual fixes to clear the bug, including restarting their device, reinstalling the Messages app, and clearing the cache and data, but none of them seem to fix the issue.

A reply from a Google Product Expert Alumni recommends waiting to see if they turn back up again, and that the issue could be down to a re-indexing issue. He also says to check for Unknown senders in the app, as there is a known bug that's recategorizing senders as "unknown", forcing them out of chat threads.

It was originally assumed that the problem might be something to do with the Samsung Messages switchover, as people moved from the sunsetting product to Google Messages. However, a number of people experiencing the issue have been with Google Messages for years, leading many to assume this isn't the case.

It was also assumed that only Samsung Galaxy phones were affected by this bug, but the most recent complaints on the subject have come from Google Pixel and Motorola Razr owners, suggesting that the problem may have spread to other Android phones.

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A number of solutions have been proposed, including enabling SMS backup, disabling RCS, and even installing other apps like Textra to see if messages show up there. However, it seems that no single solution is fixing the widespread problems, even if they work for specific people in a single case.

At this point in time, it seems the only road forward is to wait and see whether those messages re-appear. But while that's happening, it might be worth exploring other messaging apps that don't have magically vanishing messages.