You hang up and they listen in. Google confirms the issue

For Polish users, this is information from the category of interesting facts from around the world, because Take a Message functionwhich caused all the confusion, has not officially reached the Vistula River yet. Still, the case sheds some interesting light on how AI-powered software can play tricksviolating users’ privacy.

The Take a Message function is a solution introduced more widely on the occasion of the premiere of Pixel 10, although it is also available on older models (from Pixel 4 and above). It operates on English-speaking markets (USA, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia) and is sort of like smart local voicemail.

The rule is simple: when you reject a call or do not answer it, Google’s AI takes over the conversation. It asks the caller to leave a message (“The person you are calling is unavailable…”), and on the user’s screen a transcript appears in real time what the caller says. Everything happens on the device, without the use of the cloud.

Theoretically, when Take a Message works, the user’s microphone should be turned offand the phone should only record the caller’s voice. However, the reality turned out to be different.

onorFrom September 2025, reports from owners of older models (mainly Pixel 4, 4a and 5) began to appear on Reddit. Users noticed that when Take a Message took over the conversation, the microphone on their phone remained active. As a result, the caller heard everything instead of recording his/her email. The only warning sign was the green privacy indicator dot in the corner of the screen, which is easy to miss.

Google confirmed the existence of the erroremphasizing that it concerns a very small group of devices and occurs in very specific circumstances. The company was unable to reproduce the bug on newer Pixel models, but the problem turned out to be real on older hardware.

Because Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 series models no longer receive official Android updates, Google has taken a radical step. Instead of trying to patch the vulnerable code on an unsupported system, the Mountain View giant decided to completely disable the Take a Message function and the newer Call Screen functions on these devices.