Xbox Dummy Messages spark apology after flood of test notifications

xbox dummy messages appeared on mobile devices today as the Xbox App pushed a stream of "Mobile Test Message" notifications described in-app as a "dummy message sent Braze. " Xbox apologised for the flood and said the problem has been resolved.

Xbox Dummy Messages and apology

The notifications, labeled "Mobile Test Message, " were shared widely on social media over the past couple of hours, with hundreds of users posting screenshots and asking what the alerts meant. Xbox issued an apology on Twitter/X, saying, "The Xbox App got a little too enthusiastic with test notifications today. That’s on us, but it’s resolved now. Thanks for understanding, and we apologize for flooding your notifications. " The company also used the shorter line, "The Xbox App got a little too enthusiastic" in its outreach.

What users experienced

Users described receiving large numbers of test alerts. One message said a person got about 12 in a row while others reported seeing upwards of 60. Another user wrote they only got four. Several people said the barrage made notifications "out of control" on their phones, with at least one person saying they received about 50 notifications before the stream stopped and another saying they had to delete the app because it was so annoying.

Sample user reactions

Comments collected in the immediate aftermath varied from bemusement to alarm. One reader said they had just redeemed reward points and wondered whether the alerts were related to that. Another assumed the alerts might be phishing and said they normally ignore such messages. A different reaction joked, "At least, it was Braze, and not Brazzers. " Others voiced concern about privacy and flagged the company's new leadership, with one comment reading, "AI spyware within the app. Just as the new CEO mentioned her desire to do in previous interviews, " and another adding, "It's the new CEOs copilot going off the grid. " Several users ultimately expressed relief, saying they were glad it was a system error and "nothing nefarious. "

How Xbox responded

Xbox told users the issue was a misplaced test push and that there was nothing for customers to do. the problem was resolved and apologised for "flooding your notifications. " The apology framed the event as a test notification that went wrong and noted it had seemingly been pushed out to the vast majority of Xbox app users.

Editor and reader note

Fraser, the news editor who wrote about the event, invited readers to share whether they had received the notifications and to post screenshots and experiences in the comments. The coverage captured both the scale of the alerts and the range of reactions, from amusement to frustration.

In short, xbox dummy messages disrupted many mobile users' notification streams today, Xbox apologised for the error, and the company says the issue is resolved. Did you receive the test alerts? Let us know in the comments.