Android Uses AI to Crack Down on Scammers in Google Messages

Android is introducing new scam protection features designed to make it easier for users to escape mobile phone scams, including enhanced protection in Google Messages and additional safeguards. Building on Google Messages' scam detection, a new 'Advanced Protection' setting will be rolled out in the coming weeks, based on cloud […]

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A new selective advanced protection mode uses Gemini to evaluate the targets of unknown senders.

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A news writer focused on creative industries, computing and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar covering hardware news and reviews.

Android introduces new fraud defense features aimed at making it easier for users to evade mobile fraud, including enhanced protection in Google Messages and additional protection tools. Building on the fraud detection feature in Google Messages, a new "Advanced Protection" setting will be rolled out in the coming weeks that uses Gemini's cloud-based AI models to quickly assess a potential fraudster's intentions in conversations with an anonymous sender.

"Fraudsters often hide their true motives behind slow conversations," Google said in its update announcement. "This secure cloud analytics enhances and extends our existing on-device detection, allowing us to identify new and sophisticated attacks, proactively detect and stop abusers trying to cover their tracks."

User data is encrypted during this AI analysis and "processed in a secure private space" that Google (and anyone else other than the user) cannot access. Advanced protection mode will be selected, and it will also use on-device Gemini Nano AI to check real-time web signals on unfamiliar URLs sent to the user before they are opened to determine if the links are malicious or not.

Additional security features announced today include blocking apps from enabling Callback, and notifying the user if someone tries to do so, along with automatically hiding sensitive information when sharing the screen in Chrome and WebView Android. The fraud detection feature for chat notifications that Google introduced on Pixel phones last year is now being extended to devices from Honor, Motorola, Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, Tecno, Vivo, Xiaomi and more. Google says it plans to roll it out to "hundreds of millions more users" later this year.

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