Samsung phones are sending photos to their owner's contacts without their permission, according to reports.

Samsung says it is investigating the issue, which may be caused by an update to the texting app Samsung Messages.

Frighteningly, the app doesn't even show users that the files have been sent - they only find out when they get a response from the recipient of the random photos.

"Last night around 2.30am, my phone sent [my girlfriend] my entire photo gallery over text but there was no record of it on my messages app," one Reddit user complained.

They added that they had enabled a setting allowing pictures to be automatically backed-up to Google, and suspected that the leak occurred because of an update to the Samsung Messages app.

 Additional owners of the Galaxy S9, S9+ and Note 8 devices have complained about picture dumps, prompting one Reddit user to quip: "Do S9's come with divorce lawyers?"

Another referenced the self-immolation of Note 7s debacle by stating: "Give me a spontaneously exploding phone any day of the week, Samsung, instead of this nightmare scenario."

Concerned users should ensure that Samsung Message does not have permission to access their phone's storage, which will prevent it from being able to send anything on the phone.

In a statement, the company said: "We are aware of the reports regarding this matter and our technical teams are looking into it. Concerned customers are encouraged to contact us directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG."