The WhatsApp users are being warned about new “text bomb” messages that can cause their iOS and Android handsets to break down and stop working properly.

According to the security experts, the phones receiving the “text bomb” message are unable to open it properly, leading the app to shut down. The dangerous messages are being spread in two varieties. The first one contains a laughing emoji, and a “Read more” text. The second one features a black dot followed by the words “if you touch the black point then your WhatsApp will hang”. Tapping on the “Read more” or the black dot causes the phone to freeze and, eventually, to shut down entirely.

In order to prevent any unforeseen future problems, anyone who has received the “text bomb” should delete the message in question by removing the entire chat, including any media, that has been shared with the person who sent the message. It might be also necessary to reboot the device. To do so, the user should hold down the power button on the handset until the restart option appears, or simply power down the device and power it back up.

The owner of the WhatsApp has yet to issue a statement, but its more than likely that the software patch fixing the problem will be released soon.