Google is temporarily disabling a helpful voicemail feature on some older Pixel phones after discovering it occasionally allowed people calling in to hear sounds from inside your home or office. The company says the problem is rare and affects only a small number of devices, but it decided to turn off the feature entirely on Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 phones as a safety measure.
According to a statement posted on Google's support forums, the Take a Message feature (which transcribes voicemail messages right in your phone's calling app) didn't always properly separate incoming calls from background noise in your location.
In simple terms, when someone called and you didn't answer, they might be able to hear what's happening around you instead of just getting the standard voicemail prompt. Google confirmed the issue and is being cautious by shutting down the feature on the affected older devices.
As reported by Android Authority, this problem appears isolated to the Take a Message feature and doesn't affect traditional carrier voicemail services. Google launched Take a Message with its Pixel 10 phones as a modern alternative to old-fashioned voicemail—it records a brief message from callers and instantly converts it to text so you can read what they said without having to listen to the recording.
The good news is that you won't lose your ability to screen calls. The Call Screen feature, which lets you filter unwanted calls or direct them to voicemail, will keep working normally on Pixel 4 and 5 phones. You can also continue using your regular carrier voicemail if you prefer. Google hasn't yet shared how many devices this impacts or when the company might restore Take a Message to these phones, so customers will just need to wait for more updates down the road.
Source: Android Authority
