Google just announced a number of security features It comes to messages. There’s improved fraud detection centered around texts that could lead to fraud. The company says the update provides “improved analysis of fraudulent texts.” For now, the tool will focus on package delivery and job offer scams.
When Google Messages suspects fraud, it moves the message to the spam folder or issues a warning. The app uses on-device machine learning models to detect these scams, meaning conversations will remain private. This update is available now beta users with spam protection enabled.
Google is also gearing up to widely roll out smart alerts, which have been in the pilot phase for some time. This tool alerts users when they receive a link from an unknown sender and automatically “blocks messages with links from suspicious senders.” The updated security tools also include new sensitive content alerts that automatically blur images containing nudity. It’s a plug-in feature and keeps everything on the device. It will appear in the next few months.
Finally, there’s a tool that allows people to block messages from unknown international senders, thereby cutting off scammers at the source. This will automatically hide messages from international senders who are no longer in your contact list. This feature is included in the A pilot program in Singapore before rolling out to more countries later this year.
In addition to the above tools, Google says that it is currently working on a contact verification feature for Android. This should help put the kibosh on scammers trying to impersonate one of your contacts. The company said the feature will be available sometime next year.
