If your text messages have started randomly disappearing on Android, it’s not just you.
A growing number of users say chats inside Google Messages are vanishing without warning. Moreover, the issue now appears to be spreading beyond a single brand.
Early reports suggested the bug was limited to Samsung phones, especially as users began switching over following the phase-out of Samsung Messages. However, more recent complaints point to a wider problem. Owners of Google Pixel and Motorola Razr devices are also seeing messages disappear.
What’s making this bug particularly frustrating is how unpredictable it is. Users report both new and old messages going missing, sometimes in real time. There is no clear pattern as to which conversations are affected. In addition, common fixes, like restarting your phone, clearing app cache, or reinstalling the app, don’t seem to reliably solve the issue either.
There are a few theories floating around. One suggestion from a Google support contributor points to a possible indexing problem. This could mean messages aren’t gone entirely but temporarily hidden. Another known glitch may be incorrectly sorting contacts into “unknown senders”, causing threads to disappear from the main inbox.
Some users have tried workarounds like disabling RCS, enabling SMS backups, or checking messages through third-party apps like Textra. However, results have been inconsistent at best. In some cases, messages reappear on their own; in others, they don’t.
At this stage, there’s no official fix or clear explanation from Google. The issue doesn’t seem tied to one specific device or recent app switch. That makes it harder to pin down, and more concerning for anyone relying on Google Messages as their main texting app.
For now, the safest move might be to double-check your backup settings and keep an eye on updates. Until a proper fix lands, Android users may have to live with the possibility that some messages could disappear, at least temporarily.
