Pixel Launcher bug reopens the app you just closed when trying to launch another

A peculiar glitch in Google Pixel Launcher is drawing increasing attention, with users reporting that closing an app and immediately tapping another on the home screen sometimes results in the previously closed app reopening instead.

The issue recently gained fresh traction after a post on the r/Pixel_Phones subreddit garnered hundreds of upvotes and comments within 24 hours. Most commenters echoed the original poster’s experience, describing a scenario where attempting to switch apps from the Pixel Launcher home screen results in the wrong app launching, specifically the one that was just closed.

In a shared screen recording, the OP demonstrates the bug in action. After closing Instagram and tapping on the X (formerly Twitter) app icon, the phone opens Instagram again — twice. Only on the third attempt does the intended X app finally open, highlighting how inconsistent yet disruptive the glitch can be.

A long-running issue that’s hard to pin down

According to the Redditor, this isn’t a new problem. They claim to have experienced the bug for around six months, though it had previously been difficult to reproduce consistently. That detail aligns with broader community feedback, where users describe the issue as intermittent but persistent, often appearing without any clear trigger.

Adding weight to these reports, a bug entry was filed earlier this month on Google’s Issue Tracker. The report has since accumulated hundreds of upvotes, suggesting that the problem affects a significant number of users, potentially spanning hundreds or even thousands of Pixel devices in the wild.

Reports indicate that the glitch impacts multiple Pixel generations and occurs on both Android 16 Beta and stable builds. While this could imply a broader system-level problem, early signs point toward Pixel Launcher as the likely culprit, given that the issue manifests during app switching from the home screen.

Google acknowledges the problem, but silence follows

The Google team acknowledged the bug report and confirmed that it was escalated to the development team on November 5. Impacted users were told they would receive updates as more information became available. However, as of now, there has been no further communication from Google, even as fresh reports continue to surface.

"We have passed this to the development team and will update this issue with more information as it becomes available."

This lack of updates has left Pixel owners frustrated, especially as the bug directly affects everyday navigation and app usage. Interestingly, internal testing on Pixel units running the latest Android 16 Beta and stable versions failed to reproduce the bug. This suggests the issue may only impact a subset of users or may be tied to specific, as-yet-unknown conditions such as usage patterns, system configurations, or background processes.

That inconsistency makes the bug harder to diagnose and fix, but it also reinforces the growing belief that this is a real and widespread problem, just one that doesn’t follow a predictable pattern.

For now, there’s no confirmed workaround. So until Google provides a concrete fix or update, affected users will likely have to live with the occasional frustration of apps reopening against their will.

We’ll continue monitoring the situation and update this story if Google shares more details or rolls out a fix in a future Pixel Launcher or Android update.