If you're like me, you've seen a definite uptick in spam and scam texts lately. (All of mine call me "Michael," are in garbled English and promise me unasked-for loans of huge amounts of money.) October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and on Tuesday, Google announced five new features added to Google Messages on Android with the goal of protecting users.
"Every day, over a billion people use Google Messages to communicate," the company said in a blog post. "That's why we've made security a top priority, building in powerful on-device, AI-powered filters and advanced security that protects users from 2 billion suspicious messages a month."
Package delivery and job scam protection
Anyone with a smartphone has likely received scam texts claiming a package meant for them is being held up or with a job offer that comes out of nowhere and seems far too good to be true.
Now, beta users of Google Messages should have access to enhanced scam detection for this kind of fraud. Google Messages will automatically move suspected scam texts into your spam folder or warn you about the possible con job. The company says the enhancement is currently out to Google Messages beta users who have spam protection enabled.
Warnings about dangerous links
Google Messages is already helping users in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore recognize texts that contain potentially dangerous links. It warns you and blocks messages that have links from suspicious senders. Google says this feature will be expanded to additional countries later in the year.
Ability to turn off texts from unknown international senders
Of course, not all scam texts come from outside the US, but many do. Google says you'll soon be able to automatically hide messages from international senders who aren't in your contacts. These messages will go straight to the "Spam & blocked" folder. The feature will roll out first in Singapore, then expand to other countries.
Nudity blurring and warnings
Google is also introducing Sensitive Content Warnings for Google Messages. The optional feature blurs images that may contain nudity before giving you options about whether to see the content.
When it appears that you're about to send or forward nudity, warnings pop up about the risks of doing so. Users under 18 will find the feature turned on automatically and will have to opt out, but adults would have to opt in via Android Settings. This should roll out in the coming months to Android 9+ devices including Android Go devices with Google Messages.
Confirm who you're messaging
Some scammers try to impersonate a contact who's already known to users. Google is working on adding a contact-verifying feature to Android that will allow you to verify your contacts' public keys to confirm you know who's trying to message you.
"We're creating a unified system for public key verification across different apps, which you can verify through QR code scanning or number comparison," the company says in the blog post. "This feature will be launching next year for Android 9+ devices, with support for messaging apps including Google Messages."