If your phone suddenly lit up with Xbox notifications yesterday, you weren’t imagining things, and you definitely weren’t alone.
Yesterday, users of the Xbox app began receiving a rapid stream of identical push notifications. The message read: “This is a dummy test message sent via braze. please capture a screenshot once you receive it. This should take you to the recently added gallery.”
For many users, the alerts kept coming in waves, flooding lock screens and sparking confusion.
Here is everything we know about it:
Users React to the Xbox App Notification Flood
As the notifications piled up, users quickly turned to Reddit to figure out what was happening.
One of the comments, a user had thought they were hacked said “Odd same was happening to me last night 😭😭thought I was getting hacked again 😭yes again I’ve been before.”
Others pointed to the mention of “Braze” in the message and suggested it was likely a backend testing error that accidentally went live.
“It doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t mean your account was hacked, compromised, or targeted, it’s most likely just a backend testing error that slipped through,” one commenter explained.
Not everyone was amused. One frustrated user joked that the notification barrage pushed them into the “uninstalling this app ASAP headspace.”
Xbox Confirms It Was a Test Notification Glitch
Xbox later addressed the issue publicly on X, confirming that the notification spam was indeed a testing error.
“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 wrote.
It also added that its engineering team was working on it.
“We are aware that some users have received errant messaging through the Xbox Mobile App. Apologies for this inconvenience. Currently, our engineering teams are working to identify the underlying cause of these notifications,” it said.
We are aware that some users have received errant messaging through the Xbox Mobile App. Apologies for this inconvenience. Currently, our engineering teams are working to identify the underlying cause of these notifications.
— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport) February 25, 2026
What Is Braze?
The mysterious reference in the message points to Braze, a widely used customer engagement and messaging platform.
Braze allows companies to send push notifications, run in-app messaging campaigns, test messaging flows, and perform quality assurance before broad rollouts.
Many companies use platforms like Braze to segment audiences and test campaigns internally before pushing them live.
Emmanuel Umahi
