Google has announced new security features for Android with which it aims to curb the increase in phone scams and fraudulent messages. The company will incorporate new tools based on artificial intelligence to detect more sophisticated scams, check suspicious links, and protect personal information during calls and screen-sharing sessions.
According to data provided by Google, its scam detection systems in Google Messages and the Phone app already identify more than five million suspicious calls and messages per month. The new measures seek to reinforce these barriers against techniques that resort to spoofed numbers, fraudulent bank notices, and conversations designed to gain the trust of victims.
Gemini will help detect fraudulent messages and links
One of the main novelties is Google Messages' enhanced protection mode, an optional setting that will allow activating additional defenses against more complex fraud attempts. Its rollout will begin in the coming weeks.
With this option, the system will be able to resort to Gemini models hosted in the cloud to analyze the context of conversations with unknown senders and identify signs of deception that might go unnoticed at first. Google assures that this analysis will be carried out using Private AI Compute, an environment designed to process data securely and keep it private.
Protection will also extend to links. Until now, Google Messages could warn about web addresses associated with known malicious pages, but scammers can create new pages that are not yet on those lists. With enhanced mode activated, Gemini Nano will analyze web signals in real time from the device to assess the reliability of unknown links before the user accesses them.
Additionally, Google will incorporate clearer warnings when links are received from numbers not saved in the contacts. The goal is to offer the user more context before opening a potentially dangerous address. The company will also expand scam alerts that appear directly in chat notifications. This feature, which was already available on certain Pixel devices, will reach hundreds of millions of additional users through agreements with other Android mobile manufacturers.
Android will prevent call forwarding and protect banking data
The novelties are not limited to messages. Google also wants to make it difficult for scams in which criminals impersonate bank employees or technical services to obtain passwords, verification codes, and other sensitive data.
One of the new measures will prevent applications from silently activating call forwarding in the background. If a scammer convinces the victim to manually enter a forwarding code on the phone's keypad, Android will display a warning before the operation can be completed. This type of fraud can allow calls intended for the victim to be redirected to another number, making it easier for criminals to try to obtain one-time codes and access their accounts.
The system will also extend protection during screen sharing. Android already hides certain sensitive data in its native applications and will now extend this function to Chrome and Android WebView. In this way, login fields and payment screens may be hidden during a screen sharing session, preventing another person from seeing passwords or bank card information while the user performs an operation.
Google assures that Android already blocks millions of fake calls
The company has also highlighted the results of its verified financial call system, developed in collaboration with banking entities. This technology checks whether a call claiming to be from a bank has actually been initiated by that institution.
When verification fails, Android can automatically end the call and notify the user. Google states that, since its launch in June, this tool has blocked more than three million spoofed calls impersonating numbers from Banco do Brasil and Itaú Unibanco. The feature also protects customers of other entities, such as Revolut, and its expansion to new partners is planned.
Google backs its advancements with an independent evaluation commissioned to Leviathan Security Group, which compares the built-in protections of Android and iOS. According to the company's own interpretation of the report, Android offers greater guarantees against certain types of fraud. However, this is an evaluation commissioned by Google and not a universal certification that all Android devices are more secure than iPhones.
The new features will be rolled out progressively, and their availability will depend on the device, application, country, and configuration used. Therefore, not all new features will be immediately available on all Android phones.