Michael JohnsonOn October 14, Google announced new Android protections against scam messages and calls. They include an enhanced mode in Google Messages with Gemini cloud analysis, additional link checks, hidden sign-in and payment fields during screen sharing, and protection against covert call forwarding. The features are rolling out gradually and have different device requirements.
Google Messages’ enhanced mode is designed to analyze complex conversations with unknown senders. According to Google’s announcement, it will allow Scam Detection to use Gemini cloud models to assess message context through Private AI Compute. Google describes this environment as encrypted and isolated, and says the data in it are inaccessible to the company. The enhanced mode will begin rolling out in the coming weeks; users will need to enable it themselves.
Link checks and notification warnings
In enhanced mode, on-device Gemini Nano will use current web signals to assess unfamiliar links before users open them. This expands the existing checks for addresses known to be malicious or used for phishing. Google lists compatibility with Pixel 10 and later, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold8, as well as some other devices.
Google is also working with Android device makers to expand scam-message protection in notifications to hundreds of millions of users later in 2026. The feature analyzes notifications directly on the device and warns about suspicious messages before an app is opened; availability depends on the manufacturer and model.
Enhanced mode also adds more prominent warnings before users open unfamiliar links in messages from numbers that are not in their contacts. Google says this feature is available on devices running Android 6 and later.
Screen and call-forwarding protection
During screen sharing, Android will automatically hide sign-in fields and payment screens in Chrome and Android WebView. Google began rolling out this feature in October to devices running Android 15 and later.
Android blocks apps from secretly enabling call forwarding in the background. If a user manually enters a call-forwarding MMI code, the system will warn them before applying the command. Google said the protection will become available from early December on Pixel and some other devices.
Separately, Google described an existing feature that verifies the authenticity of financial calls. Since June, Android has blocked more than three million spoofed calls impersonating Banco do Brasil and Itaú Unibanco: the system ends calls from numbers designated for incoming calls only and not used by the banks to contact customers. Real-time verification uses official banking apps to determine whether the bank initiated a call; Google also reports that customers of other organizations, including Revolut, are protected.
To check whether the new features are available, update Android and review the protection settings in Google Messages. Google has not announced a single launch date for the entire set: enhanced mode will begin rolling out in the coming weeks, notification-warning expansion is planned for later in 2026, and call-forwarding protection is due from early December.