Beware if you have an iPhone; Google's app sends notifications for pornographic images you should not open.
Things are not going well for Google. Yesterday, YouTube was down in most parts of the world, and today its search app is sending out very strange notifications to thousands of iPhones worldwide. It's still unclear whether it's a software glitch or a hack, but the links Google is sending are alarming. These links won't infect your phone, but you might see something unpleasant.
What's going on? Apparently, since this morning, some iPhones with the Google app installed have started receiving notifications containing content from Grok. Yes, it's Elon Musk's AI, which has nothing to do with Google. This is already strange, but it becomes even more alarming when you click on the link.
The notification displays a Grok link, which takes you to a constantly looping GIF. What is this kind of video about? An AI-generated woman behaving inappropriately. So much so that we decided not to include the image in this post for obvious reasons. You can imagine (or not) what appears when you open the link.
In fact, the situation is so surreal it's almost a joke. A glitch in Google's iPhone app is sending a notification with a Grok link. Worse still, it's some kind of AI-generated porn that offers nothing new and doesn't allow you to continue. Three companies are involved, with little to no connection between them, and their motives are completely unknown.
Don't take this advice literally or make it a permanent rule, but if you receive any notifications on your iPhone from the Google app within the next few hours, it's best to ignore them. The problem is real and hasn't been resolved yet, so that inappropriate pornographic GIF could turn into another type of link that might be even more harmful to you, your phone, or your data.
Google has not commented on the matter, and while they are likely working on a fix, the issue persists. We don't know how many iPhones are affected or the geographic regions where it is widespread, and Reddit discussions about the problem don't reveal any clear pattern.
This is likely just a funny story, and nothing significant will happen other than perhaps seeing a GIF, but it's best to keep an eye on the Google app on your iPhone for the next few days. If you notice anything suspicious, don't open it.