5 new protections on Google Messages to assist hold you protected

Every 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 may talk privately with different Google Messages RCS customers. And we’re not stopping there. We’re dedicated to consistently growing 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 hold 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 finally 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 in search of messages. When Google Messages suspects a possible rip-off textual content, it is going to mechanically 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 is rarely 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. Intelligent warnings provide you with a warning about probably harmful hyperlinks. In the previous yr, we’ve been piloting extra protections for Google Messages customers once they obtain textual content messages with probably 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 yr.
3. Controls to show off messages from unknown worldwide senders. In some instances, rip-off textual content messages come from worldwide numbers. Soon, it is possible for you to to mechanically cover messages from worldwide senders who will not be present contacts so that you don’t need to work together with them. If enabled, messages from worldwide non-contacts will mechanically be moved to the “Spam & blocked” folder. This characteristic will roll out first as a pilot in Singapore later this yr earlier than we take a look at increasing to extra nations.
4. Sensitive Content Warnings offer you management over seeing and sending photos 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 accountable for their information. This is why we’re introducing Sensitive Content Warnings for Google Messages.

   Sensitive Content Warnings is an non-compulsory characteristic that blurs photos which will comprise nudity earlier than viewing, after which prompts with a “speed 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 gives a velocity bump to remind customers of the dangers of sending nude imagery and stopping unintentional shares.

   All of this occurs on-device to guard your privateness and hold end-to-end encrypted message content material non-public to solely sender and recipient. Sensitive Content Warnings doesn’t permit Google entry to the contents of your photos, nor does Google know that nudity could have been detected. This characteristic is opt-in for adults, managed by way of Android Settings, and is opt-out for customers below 18 years of age. Sensitive Content Warnings might be rolling out to Android 9+ units together with Android Go units³ with Google Messages within the coming months.

5. More affirmation about who you’re messaging. To enable you to keep away from refined messaging threats the place an attacker tries to impersonate certainly one of your contacts, we’re working so as to add a contact verifying characteristic to Android. This new characteristic will permit you to confirm your contacts’ public keys so you may affirm you’re speaking with the particular person you plan to message. We’re making a unified system for public key verification throughout completely different apps, which you’ll confirm by means of QR code scanning or quantity comparability. This characteristic might be launching subsequent yr for Android 9+ units, with assist for messaging apps together with Google Messages.

   These are simply among the new and upcoming options that you should use to higher shield your self when sending and receiving messages. Download Google Messages from the Google Play Store to get pleasure from these protections and controls and study extra about Google Messages right here.

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