Google Messages is getting several additional protections against spam and sensitive content like nudity. The update focused on safety features is now rolling out to Android users, although some of these protections are still being tested.
First off, Google is now bringing new protections against scam texts that can lead to fraud, despite seeming harmless at first. The so-called enhanced scam detection is now rolling out to Google Messages beta users on Android.
Here is how it works: if the app suspects a potential scam text, it will automatically move it into your spam folder or warn you. According to Google, its Messages app uses on-device machine learning models to categorize these scams, so conversations remain private, and the content is never sent to Google unless you report the spam.
Another security feature that Google Messages had been testing since the beginning of the year concerns links. The app has been piloting protections for Google Messages users when they receive text messages with potentially dangerous links.
Only Google Messages users in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore had access to this feature that would warn users when they get a link from unknown senders and blocks messages with links from suspicious senders. However, Google confirmed plans to expand this feature globally later this year.
Next in line is the ability to turn off messages from unknown international senders. A new feature is going to be rolled out first as a pilot in Singapore later this year, which will allow users to automatically hide messages from international senders who are not existing contacts. When this is enabled, messages from international non-contacts will automatically be moved to the “Spam & blocked” folder.
More importantly, Google announced the launch of the so-called Sensitive Content Warnings feature for Google Messages. This is an optional feature that blurs images that may contain nudity before viewing, and then prompts with a “speed bump” that contains help-finding resources and options, including to view the content.
Besides that, when the feature is enabled, and an image that may contain nudity is about to be sent or forwarded, it will provide a speed bump to remind users of the risks of sending nude imagery and preventing accidental shares.
Once again, this happens directly on your phone to protect privacy and keep end-to-end encrypted messages content private to only sender and recipient.
Last but not least, Google announced that it’s working on a new feature that will allow Messages users to verify their contacts’ public keys, thus confirming they’re communicating with the right person.
Google plans to develop a unified system for public key verification across different apps, which can verify through QR code scanning or number comparison. The Mountain View company plans to launch this feature next year for Android 9+ devices, with support for messaging apps including Google Messages.
