Samsung users 'freaked' by accidental overnight alert

Samsung has apologised after customers were left "freaked" and "scared" when an alert was sent accidentally overnight.

Some said they had been woken up when their handsets got a message from the firm's Find My Mobile service and the number 1 appeared a couple of times.

One owner said she was "scared that someone tried to hack me", while another said she was "freaked out" because it happened when she was "fast asleep" and would be "really grateful for an explanation".

In its reply, Samsung said the alert was "sent unintentionally during internal testing and there is no effect on your device".

It continued: "Samsung apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused to our customers and will work to prevent similar cases from occurring in the future."

The notification was sent to a "limited number of Galaxy devices", the South Korean company said.

"We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience this may have caused and will ensure that a similar incident doesn't occur in the future."

Samsung's Find My Mobile service helps to locate phones and tablets and protects data, it says on its website.

It recently released three new Galaxy S20 smartphones and a flip phone.