Google / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
That smartphone in your pocket is home to your favorite apps, personal accounts, and sensitive data. That means your device should have the strongest security protection available to prevent the wrong people from stealing your money or information.
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For Android users, Google offers a variety of tools and technologies to defend you against scammers, malware, and other threats to your security and privacy. In a blog post published Tuesday, the company spotlights the protections now available or coming soon and how they aim to keep you safe from the latest dangers.
1. Protection against scam calls
First up is protection against scam phone calls. Savvy scammers can try to trick you into performing certain actions on your phone, such as changing default security settings or granting elevated permissions to a malicious app. To protect you, Google will warn you of such attempts and even block specific types of actions.
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Android’s new in-call protections will try to prevent three types of actions:
- Disabling Google Play Protect. Turned on by default, this built-in security protection constantly scans for malicious apps, whatever the source, and therefore should always be active.
- Sideloading an app for the first time. This applies if you’re sideloading an app from a web browser, messaging app, or other source that Google hasn’t vetted for security or privacy threats.
- Granting accessibility permissions. This can give a malicious app control over your device to steal banking information and other private data.
Further, if you’re sharing your screen during a phone call, Android will caution you to turn off screen sharing after the call ends to prevent scammers from accessing sensitive information.
The in-call protections run completely on your device and go into effect only with non-contacts. Protection against disabling Google Play Protect is available on devices running Android 6 or higher. Protections against sideloading an app and granting accessibility permissions will be available on devices running the upcoming Android 16.
2. In-call protections for banking apps
Scammers impersonating banks or government agencies will sometimes prompt you to share your screen and try to trick you into performing certain actions, such as money transfers. To guard against this, Google is piloting new in-call protections for banking apps, starting in the UK.
Also: How Google’s new Unified Security platform aims to simplify the fight against cyberthreats
If you launch a banking app on your phone while sharing your screen with an unknown contact, your device will warn you about the possible dangers. You’ll then be given the option to end the call and turn off screen sharing with just a single tap.
This protection will be enabled automatically for participating banks’ apps on any device running Android 11 or higher. Google said it is working with UK banks to pilot this feature with their customers in the coming weeks. Based on the pilot’s results, the company plans to expand this protection through a wider rollout.
3. Improved scam detection in Google Messages
Scam detection in Google Messages tries to protect you from text conversations that initially seem harmless but then quickly become suspicious and even malicious. If that happens, the feature warns you. Currently, protection focuses on job scams and package delivery scams. Now it’s expanding to encompass other types of fraud, including:
- Toll road and other billing fee scams
- Crypto scams
- Financial impersonation scams
- Gift card and prize scams
- Technical support scams
4. Better encryption for text messages via Key Verifier
That familiar person you’re texting may actually be a cybercriminal impersonating your trusted contact in an attempt to scam you. To better combat this type of fraud and protect your own messages, Google is introducing a tool called Key Verifier. With this feature, you’ll be able to verify the identity of the other person through public encryption keys. Here’s how this will work.
Using a QR code or number comparison, you confirm the identity of the person you’re texting via your Google Contacts app. By ensuring that your secret keys match, you verify that the other person is actually your contact, and you also keep the conversation private and secure.
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What if the keys don’t match? In that case, it may be a sign that a scammer has stolen your contact’s phone number and is using it on a different device, as in a SIM swap attack. The contact’s status in the Google Contacts app will no longer be marked as verified. You can then try using another means to warn your contact that their account and phone number may have been compromised. Launching later this summer, Key Verifier will be accessible on devices running Android 10 or higher.
5. Stronger mobile phone theft protection
A criminal who steals your phone could capture your financial and personal data, leading not only to monetary losses but to identity theft. Google already offers theft protection features that aim to help you before, during, and after a theft. The company also provides an Identity Check tool for Pixel and Samsung One UI 7 devices.
Now, Identity Check is expanding to more devices running Android 16. That’s not all. Later this year, Google will strengthen protections against factory resets by restricting such actions without the owner’s authorization. At the same time, the Remote Lock feature will prompt you to answer a security challenge question to verify your identity.
Also: How Google’s AI combats new scam tactics – and how you can stay one step ahead
Also on tap is a change to one-time passwords. If your device isn’t connected to Wi-Fi or hasn’t recently been unlocked, any one-time password sent to it will be hidden on your lock screen. That means your device will have to be unlocked to reveal that password in the first place.
6. Advanced protection for mobile devices
Whether you’re a public figure getting hit by targeted attacks or just someone who wants stronger security in place, Google offers an Advanced Protection Program. Here, the company will cryptographically verify and authenticate all your login operations to protect your account, your device, and your data. The latest version of Advanced Protection will be available on all devices running Android 16.
7. Improvements to Google Play Protect
Google is beefing up Play Protect in a couple of ways. Designed to protect you from malicious apps, the feature is now using a new set of on-device rules to look for binary patterns found in malware families. If such a pattern is detected, you’ll be warned that the app is malicious before you try to install it. These rules will also be updated frequently to catch the latest patterns. This latest update to Google Play Protect is now available around the world for all Android users.
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Scammers who specialize in malicious apps try to cover their tracks by hiding or changing an app’s icon, making it difficult for you to find or delete the program. Now, Play Protect will incorporate live threat detection to alert you to this type of behavior. This protection will reach Google Pixel 6 and higher devices as well as selected devices from other manufacturers sometime in the coming months.
8. Enhancing overall Android security
Beyond all the new and improved features, Google is always enhancing its overall Android security. This happens through tools and technologies introduced with each new version of Android as well as updates to Google Play services and other improvements. The ultimate goal is to protect you from advanced and emerging threats as cybercriminals continue to up their game.
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