Google starts rolling out scam and malware detection tools for Pixel smartphones

Currently in beta, the new tools will soon expand to other Android devices.

Google has begun rolling out its Scammer Detection and Google Play Protect features, which were first announced at its annual developer conference this May.

The tools are first available in beta for Pixel 6 and newer devices in the US for English-speaking users. They will later expand to other regions and include more Android devices.

The Scam Detection tool, powered by the Google Gemini Nano model, will use real-time on-device AI to detect conversation patterns commonly associated with scams.

Google gives an example of a caller who claims to be from your bank and asks you to urgently transfer funds due to an alleged account breach. If the tool determines that the case is likely a scam, it will provide a haptic alert along with a visual warning.

Scam detection, which is available via the Phone by Google app, is switched off by default.

Another feature, Play Protect, will alert users if a harmful app is found.

“At launch, live threat detection will focus on stalkerware, code that may collect personal or sensitive data for monitoring purposes without user consent, and we will explore expanding its detection to other types of harmful apps in the future,” the company said in a blog post.

The company claims that protection will happen on the device through Private Compute Core, which means that the company will not collect users' data.

In October, the company started testing new theft protection features for Android users.

Theft Detection Lock uses AI to detect when someone grabs your phone from your hand and tries to run away on foot, by bike, or by car.

Offline Device Lock automatically locks your screen if a thief tries to keep your phone disconnected from the internet for an extended period.