Google Rolls Out Trio Of New Android Features For Staying Safe And Connected

It’s March and that means it’s time for Google’s latest Pixel Drop. Among the plethora of features arriving on Android devices, Google has rolled out a few tools designed to keep you safe, connected, and help with shopping.

After briefly mentioning it in a blog post last week and then suddenly removing that text from the blog, Scam Detection for messages is here. The feature entered beta back in October last year, but now it’s ready for the main stage. If you’re unfamiliar with Scam Detection, it uses AI to identify patterns commonly associated with scams to warn you in real time if it suspects a scam is happening. You can then either choose to ignore the warning or block and report the conversation.

For the Pixel 9 and up, Scam Detection relies on Gemini Nano, while other on-device machine learning models are used for the Pixel 6 and up. Google states that all processing is handled on-device so conversations are kept private. This feature is on by default as part of the Scam Protection setting in the Messages app, so you’ll need to go to the settings toggle if you want to turn it off.

Scam Detection is launching in English first and will be available for users in the US, UK, and Canada. However, the company says it does plan to expand the feature in the future.

On a related note, Scam Detection for calls — which went into beta last November — is having the availability of its beta expanded. Just like for messages, this feature alerts the user in real-time to scams if it detects common patterns associated with scams. However, this tool will alert you through audio, visual, and haptic warnings. With the beta expanded, now all English-speaking Pixel 9 series owners in the US will have access to it.

On top of Scam Detection, Google is making it possible to share your location in the app you would normally use to locate missing devices. In the Find My Device app, you can now let your friends and family see where you are on a map, which could be helpful for meeting up or just letting someone know you made it home safely. Google says you have control over who sees your location and for how long. This feature also sends you reminders so you know who you’re sharing this information with.

Last but not least, it looks like we’re getting some shopping tools in Chrome. Chrome on Android will now have a feature that lets users stay up-to-date on a product’s price history, track price drops, and compare prices. This feature will appear next to the address bar as a “Price is low” notification.

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