Google Messages open beta users are seeing double this week, and it’s not their eyesight. The latest beta update (version 20250811_03_RC00) drops a fun little glitch that makes the app appear twice in your launcher. Both icons open the same app, both work perfectly fine, and both are completely indistinguishable. It’s just… two Messages, because apparently one isn’t enough (Source: 9to5Google).
A small bug, and a curious one
But nothing to get worked up over
On the Pixel Launcher, you might even spot both clones in the “suggested apps” row, like Google’s quietly trying to convince you it’s your most important app. If you already had Messages pinned to your home screen, though, you’ll probably never notice the doppelgänger. It also doesn’t show up twice in search.
This isn’t the first time the Google Messages beta has glitched out recently. Just last week, an update left some users dealing with app crashes on launch. Back in May, another bug mysteriously wiped out contact photos in conversations. None of these issues lasted long, but they’re enough to remind you why beta testing exists: to catch the weird stuff before it reaches everyone else.
Android Police editor Dallas Thomas as well as the good folks at 9to5Google confirmed it: the duplicate icon bug seems to affect both Pixel and Samsung devices, so it’s not an OEM quirk. With no real usability downsides, it’s more amusing than annoying — though it might make you question how your app drawer got so cluttered overnight. Expect a fix in the next beta cycle. Until then, enjoy the novelty of having a spare Messages app, just in case.
