Google is strengthening Android’s fraud protection with new AI-powered features for Google Messages. The update introduces an optional protection mode that analyzes suspicious conversations and checks unfamiliar links. This can help users identify scams before they lose money or expose personal information.
Google’s new enhanced protection mode uses cloud-based Gemini models to examine conversations with unknown senders. The feature aims to identify scams that develop gradually, as fraudsters often build trust before asking victims to share financial details, transfer money or reveal account credentials.
The new system builds on Google Messages’ existing scam detection feature, which flags suspicious texts on supported devices. By analyzing the context of a conversation, Gemini can help identify fraudulent intent that conventional spam filters may miss.
Google announced the feature on October 14, with a rollout planned for the coming weeks. Users must enable Enhanced Protection to access the additional safeguards.
The update also strengthens protection against phishing websites. Scammers frequently create new websites that may not appear on existing lists of malicious links. Google Messages will use Gemini Nano, which runs directly on compatible devices, to assess unfamiliar URLs using real-time web signals.
The feature aims to warn users about potentially dangerous links before they open them. Google is also introducing clearer warnings for links received from numbers that users have not saved in their contacts.
Google is also expanding scam detection in chat notifications beyond Pixel devices. The company plans to bring the feature to hundreds of millions of additional users through partnerships with manufacturers including Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo and Realme. Google’s latest changes target several common fraud methods, from phishing texts to account takeover attempts.
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