Google introduces major Messages security shakeup
Google has never really been considered one of the leading players in the red-hot secure messaging space, with the likes of WhatsApp and Signal taking center stage. However, a new Google Messages security update announcement could help change the narrative with features like enhanced scam protection and content warnings. Here’s what you need to know.
The 5 New Ways Google Is Securing Your Messaging
The Oct. 22 announcement confirmed five new protections that, Google said, will help keep your messages safe. It was posted to the Google Security Blog by Jan Jedrzejowicz, the director of product for Android and business communications, along with Alberto Pastor Nieto, a senior product manager for Google Messages, RCS Spam and Abuse, and a couple of others.
So, what are the new protections that this Google Messages security update bring to the Android secure messaging party, beyond the existing end-to-end encrypted RCS conversations with other Messages RCS users?
Enhanced Detection Protection
The first on the list comes by way of what Google calls enhanced detection protection. It’s designed to protect from the common phishing scams that plague us all, such as fake delivery package notifications, for example. Google is rolling this out now for beta users. It brings improved analysis of texts and either automatically moves anything risky to your spam folder or issues a popup warning. “Google Messages uses on-device machine learning models to classify these scams,” Google said, “so your conversations stay private and the content is never sent to Google unless you report spam.”
Intelligent Warnings
Next up comes intelligent warnings to flag up potentially dangerous links, something that has already rolled to some geographic locations and will, Google said, be expanding globally before the end of the year.
International Sender Controls
Number three are controls to disable messages from unknown international senders which make it easy to automatically hide those not already in your contacts. This is rolling out to restricted locations initially, but will end up in more countries in due course.
Nudity Blurring
The fourth move in this Google Messages security update comes by way of sensitive content warnings. This is, pretty much, what it says on the box: control over what images containing nudity you might be exposed to. “Sensitive Content Warnings is an optional feature that blurs images that may contain nudity before viewing,” Google said, “and then prompts with a ‘speed bump’ that contains help-finding resources and options, including to view the content.” Again, all of this happens on-device for privacy protection. Importantly, the feature is opt-in for adults but opt-out for those under 18 years of age.
Contact Verification
And finally, improved message confirmation comes to the Google Messages table. This one is aimed at protecting against the more sophisticated of threats, specifically contact impersonation. This is coming soon in the form of a contact verification feature for Android users to help ensure you know who you are talking to. “This new feature will allow you to verify your contacts’ public keys so you can confirm you’re communicating with the person you intend to message,” Google said, “We’re creating a unified system for public key verification across different apps, which you can verify through QR code scanning or number comparison.”
This New Google Messages Security Update Is A Move In The Right Direction For Google
Although not all these Google Messages security update protections will be available to all users in all regions at the same time, they combine to show that Google does understand the importance of not only improving security in the background but also doing so in a highly visible way to increase user confidence in the Messages product. “We’re committed to constantly developing new controls and features to make your conversations on Google Messages even more secure and private,” Google said.