Google Unveils New Android Security Features to Combat Scams

At the Android Show I/O Edition 2025, Google unveiled a range of new security and privacy features for Android. These updates include enhanced protections for calls, screen sharing, messages, device access, and system-level permissions. Google aims to improve user security by preventing scams, safeguarding personal data, and enhancing device-level defenses against potential attacks.

“We are committed to improving user security by proactively blocking risky actions, warning users of potential scams, and reinforcing device-level protections,” writes Google in a blog post. These new features seek to prevent common scams that involve unsafe links, unauthorized app installations, and unauthorized access to user devices.

The rise of phone-based scams, where attackers manipulate users into taking unsafe actions such as clicking on malicious links or downloading harmful apps, has become a significant concern. As a result, Google has developed a series of security features aimed at thwarting these tactics and improving user safety. With Android 16, the company has introduced advanced measures to prevent scam activities, enhance data protection, and bolster device security.

Security and Privacy

A key focus of the new Android security updates is preventing unauthorized app installations and device control during phone calls. Google’s new features block actions such as side-loading apps from unverified sources and granting accessibility permissions that could allow scammers to control the device. Additionally, Android 6 and later users will no longer be able to disable Google Play Protect, which scans for harmful apps, during calls. These enhancements are intended to reduce the likelihood of successful scams.

Google is also introducing screen-sharing protection, which reminds users to stop sharing their screen after a call ends. In a collaboration with select banks in the United Kingdom, a new warning screen will notify users of potential fraud during screen-sharing sessions, with a button to quickly end the session if the call involves an unknown number.

The company has further bolstered its anti-scam features in Google Messages, expanding the AI-powered scam detection capabilities, announced last march. The tool now detects a wider range of fraud, including scams related to cryptocurrency, gift cards, toll fees, financial impersonation, and technical support fraud. This feature, which was first launched in March, uses on-device AI to analyze conversations for suspicious activity. Additionally, the introduction of verification keys in Google Contacts will allow users to authenticate the identity of their contacts via QR codes or numerical matching, ensuring end-to-end encrypted communications.

For users facing SIM swap attacks, the Google Contacts app will indicate when a phone number has been compromised, showing the verification status as “unverified” if an attacker gains control over a number. This feature is slated for release later this summer for users on Android 10 or later.

Google had previously rolled out Identity Check protection on Pixel and Samsung devices. Now, with Android 16, this feature is being extended to other manufacturers, offering biometric authentication to prevent unauthorized changes to critical settings like PINs, biometrics, and theft protection settings. Later this year, Google plans to introduce additional measures to safeguard devices during factory resets, requiring authentication from the original user to prevent unauthorized resets. Moreover, a new security challenge question will be added to prevent remote locking of devices.

Additional security enhancements include updates to Google Play Protect’s live detection program, which now identifies hidden or modified icons of unsafe apps. This feature will be available to Pixel 6+ users in the coming months. Furthermore, Google is introducing new protections through its Advanced Protection Mode, aimed at securing public figures, as well as a new “Find My Hub” feature to track items, friends, and family.

These comprehensive updates mark a significant step forward in improving Android’s security architecture, ensuring that users are better protected against scams, device theft, and other security threats, reports TechCrunch.