Google has announced the launch of Advanced Protection for Android which will be available with Android 16. Advanced Protection gives you the ability to activate Google’s strongest security for mobile devices, said the company. Here’s everything else Google announced which will enhance the security of Android devices.
Firstly, Google is working to block specific actions and warn you of sophisticated attempts to change the default security settings of your device and make you vulnerable to phishing attacks. The process of blocking happens completely on device and is applied only with conversations with non-contacts. Android’s new in-call protections provide an additional layer of defense, preventing you from taking risky security actions during a call like:
- Disabling Google Play Protect, Android’s built-in security protection, that is on by default and continuously scans for malicious App behavior, no matter the download source.
- Sideloading an app for the first time from a web browser, Messaging app or other source – which may not have been vetted for security and privacy by Google.
- Granting accessibility permissions, which can give a newly downloaded malicious app access to gain control over the user’s device and steal sensitive/private data, like banking information.
And if you’re screen sharing during a phone call, Android will now automatically prompt you to stop sharing at the end of a call. These protections help safeguard you against scammers that attempt to gain access to sensitive information to conduct fraud, according to Google.
Enhanced in-call protection for banking apps
Google further announced a new feature called in-call protections for banking apps. Available starting in the UK, when you launch a participating banking app while screen sharing with an unknown contact, through this feature, your Android device will warn you about the potential dangers and give you the option to end the call and to stop screen sharing with one tap.
This feature will be enabled automatically for participating banking apps whenever you’re on a phone call with an unknown contact on Android 11+ devices. Google is working with UK banks Monzo, NatWest and Revolut to pilot this feature for their customers in the coming weeks and will assess the results of the pilot ahead of a wider roll out.
Stronger real-time Scam Detection in Google Messages
Google is expanding its detections to help protect you from a wider variety of sophisticated scams including:
- Toll road and other billing fee scams
- Crypto scams
- Financial impersonation scams
- Gift card and prize scams
- Technical support scams
- And more
Read More: Google Reveals Material 3 Expressive Design for Android and Wear OS
Key Verifier
To help protect you from scammers who try to impersonate someone you know, the company is launching a new tool called Key Verifier. The feature allows you and the person you’re messaging to verify the identity of the other party through public Encryption keys, protecting your end-to-end encrypted messages in Google Messages.
By verifying contact keys in your Google Contacts app (through a QR code scanning or number comparison), you can have an extra layer of assurance that the person on the other end is genuine and that your conversation is private with them.
Key Verifier provides a visual way for you and your contact to quickly confirm that your secret keys match, strengthening your confidence that you’re communicating with the intended recipient and not a scammer.
For example, if an attacker gains access to a friend’s phone number and uses it on another device to send you a message – which can happen as a result of a SIM swap attack – their contact’s verification status will be marked as no longer verified in the Google Contacts app, suggesting your friend’s account may be compromised or has been changed. Key Verifier will launch later this summer in Google Messages on Android 10+ devices.
Stronger mobile theft protection
Google launched theft protection features for Android a while back and is now building on them with the roll out of new features. It is hardening Factory Reset protections starting later this year, which will restrict all functionalities on devices that are reset without the owner’s authorization.
You’ll also gain more control over the Remote Lock feature with the addition of a security challenge question, helping to prevent unauthorised actions. Google noted that the Identity Check feature which first debuted on Pixel and Samsung One UI 7 devices will also now be available from more device manufacturers on supported devices that upgrade to Android 16.
Google is further enhancing your security against thieves in Android 16 by providing more protection for one-time passwords that are received when your phone is locked. In higher risk scenarios, Android will hide one-time passwords on your lock screen, ensuring that only you can see them after unlocking your device.
Advanced Protection for Android 16 Devices
Google says that Android 16 extends Advanced Protection with a device-level security setting for Android users. Whether you’re an at-risk individual – such as a journalist, elected official, or public figure – or you just prioritize security, Advanced Protection gives you the ability to activate Google’s strongest security for mobile devices, providing greater peace of mind that you’re protected against the most sophisticated threats.
Advanced Protection gives users:
- Best-in-class protection, minimal disruption: Advanced Protection gives users the option to equip their devices with Android’s most effective security features for proactive defense, with a user-friendly and low-friction experience.
- Easy activation: Advanced Protection makes security easy and accessible. You don’t need to be a security expert to benefit from enhanced security.
- Defense-in-depth: Once a user turns on Advanced Protection, the system prevents accidental or malicious disablement of the individual security features under the Advanced Protection umbrella. This reflects a “defense-in-depth” strategy, where multiple security layers work together.
- Seamless security integration with apps: Advanced Protection acts as a single control point that enables important security settings across many of your favorite Google apps, including Chrome, Google Message, and Phone by Google. Advanced Protection will also incorporate third-party applications that choose to integrate in the future.
With the release of Android 16, users who choose to activate Advanced Protection will gain immediate access to a core suite of enhanced security features. Additional Advanced Protection features like Intrusion Logging, USB protection, the option to disable auto-reconnect to insecure networks, and integration with Scam Detection for Phone by Google will become available later this year.
Google Play Protect Live Threat Detectiom
Now, Google’s Play Protect live threat detection will catch apps and alert you when we detect a deceptive behaviour by an app, such as when malicious developers try to trick people by hiding or changing their app icon, making unsafe apps more difficult to find and remove. This feature will be available to Google Pixel 6+ and a selection of new devices from other manufacturers in the coming months.
In addition, Google Play Protect now uses a new set of on-device rules to specifically look for text or binary patterns to quickly identify malware families. If an app shows these malicious patterns, the feature can alert you before you even install it. And to keep you safe from new and emerging malware and their variants, Google will update these rules frequently for better classification over time.
This update to Google Play Protect is now available globally for all Android users with Google Play services.