Google has moved to turn off a handful of call‑handling features on some older Pixel phones after confirming a rare bug that could send background audio to callers.
What happened
The Phone by Google app includes a feature called "Take a Message" that activates when you decline or miss a call. It invites the caller to leave a message, shows a live transcript to the recipient, and lets you pick up mid‑message if you want. In recent weeks a few users—mostly on older Pixel hardware—reported that the feature was, in effect, answering the call: callers could hear the sounds around the recipient's phone as they left a voicemail. Apart from the system microphone indicator, there was no obvious sign the mic was being used.
Google confirmed the issue affects "a very small subset of Pixel 4 and 5 devices under very specific and rare circumstances" and, out of caution, is disabling Take a Message and related next‑gen Call Screen features on those models. Because Pixel 4 and 5 phones no longer receive Android platform updates, Google is restricting the features rather than shipping a software patch to those devices. The company said affected customers can still rely on manual or standard automatic Call Screening features and their carrier voicemail.
Why this matters
Any unexpected microphone or audio routing behavior triggers privacy alarm bells. Even when the problem is rare, the idea that background conversations might be transmitted without a clear indicator undermines trust in the device. For users who keep sensitive work or medical calls on their phones, the stakes are personal and professional.
The Pixel line has had a string of post‑launch software fixes in recent years; this episode feeds into a broader conversation about quality control and testing for tightly integrated hardware and software features. That said, Google’s messaging stresses that this is not a widespread failure—more a narrowly scoped bug that the company is addressing conservatively.
How to protect your privacy right now
If you own a Pixel and feel uneasy, you can turn Take a Message off manually:
- Open the Phone app.
- Tap the profile icon (top‑left) to open Settings.
- Under Call Assist, select Take a Message and toggle it off.
- Turn off Take a Message if you're on an older Pixel or if you handle sensitive calls.
- Watch the Phone app for updates and be cautious with unfamiliar callers.
- Use wired or Bluetooth headsets if you’re playing back voicemails in public (a simple workaround for the playback routing issue).
Disabling the feature removes that piece of live voicemail handling; callers will fall back to your carrier voicemail. You can also rely on manual call screening or use the Phone app’s standard call‑screening options.
Not the only audio quirk reported recently
This Take a Message issue is distinct from other audio complaints circulating online—some users have separately reported voicemail playback unexpectedly routing to a loudspeaker on newer Pixels. Those reports point to a different routing problem (voicemail audio playing out loud instead of through the earpiece), and Google has acknowledged and is investigating playback bugs as well. The two problems are related only in that they both involve unexpected audio routing and privacy concerns.
If you follow Pixel news or have been tracking recent feature rollouts, remember Google frequently ships Phone app updates via the Play Store and occasionally pushes server‑side changes. For context on other Pixel updates and feature tweaks, readers have been watching ongoing Pixel changes like the recent Pixel sounds and Material You refresh as well as deals and attention around the Pixel 10 series, both of which show how quickly the Pixel experience can change across models.
A modest checklist for cautious users
Google's response—disabling the feature on the affected devices—is a blunt but immediate mitigation. For now it will calm the most acute privacy risk for owners of Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 phones, while the company continues investigations into audio routing edge cases across the broader Pixel family.