Imagine this: you’re expecting an important call, but you can’t pick up. You rely on your Pixel Phone’s ‘Take a Message’ feature to handle it—only to later discover that the caller could hear everything happening around you while leaving their message. Sounds like a privacy nightmare, right? Well, that’s exactly what a handful of Pixel users have reported happening to them.
Last year, Google introduced the ‘Take a Message’ feature in the Pixel Phone app, promising to seamlessly manage missed or declined calls. Here’s how it works: when you miss or decline a call, the feature prompts the caller with a message: ‘The person you have called is not available. Please leave a message after the tone.’ Meanwhile, your phone displays a ‘Taking a message’ notification, allowing you to view a real-time transcription of the caller’s message and even pick up mid-message if you change your mind. Sounds convenient, right? But here’s where it gets controversial...
Over the past few months, at least six users have reported a bizarre glitch: ‘Take a Message’ is accidentally sending background audio to the caller. Essentially, the caller can hear your surroundings as if you’d answered the call—but you can’t hear them. The first report surfaced on Reddit in September 2025 from a Pixel 5 owner, with subsequent confirmations from Pixel 10 and Pixel 4a users. One user even noted that the microphone privacy indicator (the green dot in the top-right corner) lit up as the feature activated, raising serious privacy concerns.
And this is the part most people miss: While the issue doesn’t seem widespread, it’s particularly troubling because it’s primarily affecting older Pixel devices no longer receiving regular OS updates. Only one report comes from a device still supported by Google, leaving many to wonder: Is this a software oversight, or a symptom of outdated hardware struggling to keep up?
Google has acknowledged the issue, stating, ‘Our team is aware of these reports and is actively investigating.’ But for now, if you’re concerned about your privacy, you can disable ‘Take a Message’ by following these steps:
- Open the Phone app and tap the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner to access ‘Settings.’
- Scroll down to the ‘Call Assist’ section and select ‘Take a Message.’
- Toggle the switch to turn the feature off.
Here’s the bigger question: In an era where privacy is paramount, should we be more skeptical of features that rely heavily on automation? Or is this just a rare, isolated bug? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—we’d love to hear your take on this!
