Google Messages Celebrates 1 Billion Daily RCS Chats With New Security Features

Contents

Google Messages is now smarter at spotting shady messages

Summary

Google Messages now detects more scam types like crypto, billing, and tech support frauds.
A new Key Verifier feature helps confirm a contact’s identity using encryption and QR codes.
Key Verifier rolls out this summer and will work on all Android 10+ devices in the US.

Google has been steadily making Google Messages more feature-rich in recent months, adding essential upgrades like the ability to unsend messages and useful UI tweaks. But one of the most impactful features added recently is real-time scam detection.

Although this feature initially launched with the Android 15 December 2024 Feature Drop, it was exclusive to the Pixel 9. Since then, Google has expanded it to more English-speaking regions and additional devices. Now, alongside the rollout of stable Android 16, Google is adding even more security features to Google Messages.

First, Scam Detection is getting a major upgrade. While it already uses on-device AI to detect conversational, package delivery, and job-related scams, the system is being improved to catch even more types of sophisticated fraud. New scam types that Google Messages will now detect in real time include:

Toll road and billing fee scams
Cryptocurrency scams
Financial impersonation scams
Gift card and prize scams
Technical support scams

Google Messages is now smarter at spotting shady messages

In addition to broader scam detection, Google Messages is also introducing a new layer of protection against identity impersonation. A new feature called Key Verifier uses public encryption keys to verify that the person you’re messaging is truly who they claim to be. The feature integrates with the Google Contacts app and allows you to scan a QR code to confirm the identity of the person on the other end.

Google gives a helpful example of how this could work. If an attacker gains access to your friend’s phone number — say, through a SIM swap attack — and starts messaging you from a different device, their verification status will be flagged as no longer verified in the Google Contacts app. Verified contacts will show a green lock icon in their contact info, signaling that they are trusted.

Key Verifier will roll out in Google Messages later this summer and will support all Android devices running Android 10 or higher, covering over 90% of Android devices in the US.

Google also took a moment to highlight how far Messages and RCS have come. The company notes that over a billion RCS messages are now sent daily in the US alone. With this growing user base, it’s good to see Google continuing to strengthen security at the same pace.