- Facebook has been notifying some users of old messages they received months or even years ago.
- A glitch caused by software updates caused the messages to show up as if they were new, Facebook said in a statement.
- Facebook has caught flack in the past for dredging up old memories. It had to modify its “On This Day” feature quickly after launch to filter out unwanted memories from appearing at the top of users’ feeds.
Some Facebook users are reliving long-forgotten memories thanks to an issue with the platform that has been notifying them of messages they received years ago.
On Monday, users took to Twitter to express their confusion that they were being notified of old messages as if they were new ones, as well as to share some of the odd exchanges from their past.
For some, the glitch also resurfaced cringeworthy and unwelcome memories:
https://twitter.com/MaxLaFave/status/1067159089484951552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Old Facebook messages popping up from years ago. Temporary security scare turned cringefest.
— Leslie Waghorn (@lawaghorn) November 26, 2018
Thank you @facebook for sending me notifications of messages sent over a year old. Many were from the day my partner, Dean, passed away & now I've spent my evening in fear of what else I'm going to see.
— Adam (@adamadzp) November 26, 2018
Read more: You'll soon be able to delete a Facebook message up to 10 minutes after it's already been sent
The resurfacing of old Facebook Messenger interactions was due to a glitch caused by software updates, according to a statement Facebook provided to the Verge. The issue was "fully resolved" as of Tuesday morning, Verge reports.
Facebook has previously fielded criticism for resurfacing old posts via its "On This Day" feature. Fortunately, the feature went through a series of updates after its 2015 rollout that filtered out those memories users would rather not recall.