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Google Duo accidentally sends out Indian cricket team ad to global users

A goof-up with geotargeting sees Google deliver a message intended for the Indian audience to global users.

What you need to know

  • Duo users across the world got a video message intended for Indian users.
  • The message sees Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli thanking users for cheering the squad.
  • Google has clarified that it was an error with geotargeting.

Starting with Valentine's Day, Google has started rolling out special effects that makes sending video messages more fun. The company also introduced special filters for users in India to celebrate Holi, and in time for the start of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, Google is rolling out a selection of cricket-themed effects in the country.

It looks like Google also planned to roll out a video message from Virat Kohli — captain of the Indian cricket team — to users in India, but a targeting error has caused the message to be delivered globally. Users from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, have received the promotional message, where Kohli toasts a cup of coffee and thanks users for cheering Team India. Here's the message:

The unprompted message understandably led to a lot of consternation, with dozens of users taking to Google's product forums to voice their complaints. Google has since clarified that the promotional message was sent out accidentally to global users, and that it was targeted for customers in India:

This evening a video message was accidentally sent by Google to some Duo users. This was not an ad -- it was a message that users in India were intended to receive as a thank you if they chose to participate in an upcoming Duo promotion.

We are sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

So if you're a Duo user and worried about the service getting hacked, fret not. It was a simple error with geotargeting, and Google will hopefully learn from this going forward.