Facebook users are reporting a bizarre bug that — like the video Year In Review or the persistent On This Day feature — dredges up digital memories. The only problem is that it’s doing so without their knowledge or permission.
Say hello to your old posts, idiots! Image: AP Photo/Eric Risberg
The glitch appears to be grabbing users’ posts at random and tossing them back onto their walls — and their friends’ timelines, Mashable and PC Mag report. The reposted content in the examples Gizmodo was able to find had their timestamps altered by the glitch to look like they’d been posted recently. Lots of people are confused and annoyed.
@facebook I’ve noticed photos I uploaded several months ago coming back around as being posted just a few MINUTES ago & I didn’t repost them
— clr (@cattbertt) December 9, 2016
Deactivated my Facebook because it decided to repost about 30 old posts without my permission. Staying away until I know it’s safe #dramatic
— Sarah ♡ (@Username_Sarah) December 9, 2016
Hello to all. Facebook mysteriously decided to Repost my MBA diploma. Thank you all for your kind comments. I am… https://t.co/TugHwCsTAD
— Jackie Sue Griffin (@Jackiesugriffin) December 9, 2016
@BBC_HaveYourSay Facebook posted 50 random old pics on timeline (even deleted ones) & added/removed friends! Seems related “2016 in Review”
— Kevin Foad (@kevinfoad) December 9, 2016
@BBC_HaveYourSay Facebook posted 50 random old pics on timeline (even deleted ones) & added/removed friends! Seems related “2016 in Review”
— Kevin Foad (@kevinfoad) December 9, 2016
Some users affected by the repost glitch noticed the issue after updating the app or checking the Year In Review feature. Currently, it’s not known what the root cause is. We reached out to Facebook but had not heard back at time of writing.
These reposts come just a few weeks after a major bug on the platform pronounced many of its users deceased. Now back from the dead, some of those same users are apparently stuck in a digital fugue state of embarrassing old status updates and photos of exes.
Is your Facebook a catastrophe right now? Let us know what’s happening in the comments below.