Google is introducing several new features to protect Android users from fraudulent phone calls. From now on, Android will automatically block the downloading of applications from the web browser, messaging applications, or other services during a phone conversation with an unknown caller during the first call.
Google will also prohibit users from granting permissions to access apps while on the phone to prevent potentially dangerous apps from gaining control of your device and stealing personal information. If you try to change these settings during a call, Google will display a message that reads “This setting is locked to protect your device.” It also warns users that “scammers may try to take control of your device by asking you to allow access to an app.”
Google already prohibits users from disabling the Play Protect app security service during phone calls. The company says that this protection is “entirely on the device” and should help prevent fraudsters from tricking users into downloading malicious apps and enabling sensitive permissions. The new protections are available on devices running Android 16.
Google has also announced that it is testing a new Android feature that will prevent users from opening banking apps while sharing the screen during a call. The feature, which will initially be rolled out to banking apps in the UK including Monzo, NatWest and Revolut, is designed to combat fraud, where fraudsters impersonate banks or government agencies to convince victims to take harmful actions such as bank transfers.
When users attempt to launch a banking app by sharing their screen with an unknown contact, Google displays a pop-up warning of “possible fraud”, offering a “end call” button that can be clicked to immediately hang up and end the screen sharing. If users choose not to end the call, they will have to wait 30 seconds before they can continue sharing their banking app screen. The feature will be available on devices running Android 11 and later, and Google says it will “evaluate the results of the pilot” before rolling it out more widely.
These features build on Android’s growing fraud protection tools. Last year, the company started using artificial intelligence to determine whether a caller might be a fraudster and encourage users to stop such calls. The company also launched an AI-powered fraud detection feature in Google Messages that has expanded to cover more types of fraud, including those that try to collect personal information through fake toll messages, cryptocurrency fraud, financial fraud scams, and more.
