If your phone is being blown up by the Xbox app right now, you're not alone.
Around 12:30 p.m. ET, users began receiving a flurry of pop-up app alerts that all 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.
App users, of course, flocked to reddit to discuss the wave of seemingly endless notifications. In one post that has since been removed by moderators, users suspected the issue was internal. "Someone pushed Test to Prod. The entire app is broken," one user wrote. Others, noting the message referred to the dev tool Braze, explained it was probably a fluke test message intended to be sent only to internal teams. "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," said one Reddit user.
"Took me to the 'uninstalling this app ASAP headspace' is what it did," wrote another disgruntled user.
Xbox later confirmed the spam was a test notification glitch, posting this explanation to X: "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."
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What is Braze?
Braze is a customer engagement and audience platform. It offers tools and quality assurance services that allow companies to test and send messaging campaigns — what many users assume led to the Xbox app spam.
What is going on at Xbox?
Last week, Xbox fans were surprised to hear that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was retiring from his role at the company. Xbox president Sarah Bond also announced she was resigning, writing in a follow up statement that she would stay on as special advisor to incoming Xbox head Asha Sharma. Bond said the move was both a personal and professional decision.
UPDATE: Feb. 25, 2026, 2:49 p.m. This story was updated with additional comments from Xbox.