5 new protections on Google Messages to assist preserve you protected

Day-after-day, over a billion folks use Google Messages to speak. That’s why we’ve made safety a high precedence, constructing in highly effective on-device, AI-powered filters and superior safety that protects customers from 2 billion suspicious messages a month. With end-to-end encrypted¹ RCS conversations, you’ll be able to talk privately with different Google Messages RCS customers. And we’re not stopping there. We’re dedicated to consistently creating new controls and options to make your conversations on Google Messages much more safe and personal.

As a part of cybersecurity consciousness month, we’re sharing 5 new protections to assist preserve you protected whereas utilizing Google Messages on Android:

1. Enhanced detection protects you from package deal supply and job scams. Google Messages is including new protections in opposition to rip-off texts which will appear innocent at first however can ultimately result in fraud. For Google Messages beta customers², we’re rolling out enhanced rip-off detection, with improved evaluation of scammy texts, beginning with a deal with package deal supply and job looking for messages. When Google Messages suspects a possible rip-off textual content, it would robotically transfer the message into your spam folder or warn you. Google Messages makes use of on-device machine studying fashions to categorise these scams, so your conversations keep non-public and the content material isn’t despatched to Google until you report spam. We’re rolling this enhancement out now to Google Messages beta customers who’ve spam safety enabled.
2. Clever warnings warn you about doubtlessly harmful hyperlinks. Previously 12 months, we’ve been piloting extra protections for Google Messages customers once they obtain textual content messages with doubtlessly harmful hyperlinks. In India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Google Messages warns customers once they get a hyperlink from unknown senders and blocks messages with hyperlinks from suspicious senders. We’re within the strategy of increasing this characteristic globally later this 12 months.
3. Controls to show off messages from unknown worldwide senders. In some circumstances, rip-off textual content messages come from worldwide numbers. Quickly, it is possible for you to to robotically conceal messages from worldwide senders who usually are not present contacts so that you don’t should work together with them. If enabled, messages from worldwide non-contacts will robotically be moved to the “Spam & blocked” folder. This characteristic will roll out first as a pilot in Singapore later this 12 months earlier than we take a look at increasing to extra international locations.
4. Delicate Content material Warnings offer you management over seeing and sending pictures which will comprise nudity. At Google, we purpose to offer customers with quite a lot of methods to guard themselves in opposition to undesirable content material, whereas maintaining them answerable for their knowledge. This is the reason we’re introducing Delicate Content material Warnings for Google Messages.

   Delicate Content material Warnings is an elective characteristic that blurs pictures which will comprise nudity earlier than viewing, after which prompts with a “velocity bump” that accommodates help-finding sources and choices, together with to view the content material. When the characteristic is enabled, and a picture which will comprise nudity is about to be despatched or forwarded, it additionally supplies a velocity bump to remind customers of the dangers of sending nude imagery and stopping unintended shares.

   All of this occurs on-device to guard your privateness and preserve end-to-end encrypted message content material non-public to solely sender and recipient. Delicate Content material Warnings doesn’t permit Google entry to the contents of your pictures, nor does Google know that nudity could have been detected. This characteristic is opt-in for adults, managed through Android Settings, and is opt-out for customers underneath 18 years of age. Delicate Content material Warnings might be rolling out to Android 9+ gadgets together with Android Go gadgets³ with Google Messages within the coming months.

5. Extra affirmation about who you’re messaging. That can assist you keep away from subtle messaging threats the place an attacker tries to impersonate one in every of your contacts, we’re working so as to add a contact verifying characteristic to Android. This new characteristic will assist you to confirm your contacts’ public keys so you’ll be able to affirm you’re speaking with the particular person you plan to message. We’re making a unified system for public key verification throughout totally different apps, which you’ll confirm via QR code scanning or quantity comparability. This characteristic might be launching subsequent 12 months for Android 9+ gadgets, with assist for messaging apps together with Google Messages.

   These are simply a few of the new and upcoming options that you should utilize to raised defend your self when sending and receiving messages. Obtain Google Messages from the Google Play Retailer to get pleasure from these protections and controls and be taught extra about Google Messages right here.

   Notes