Pixel phones are morphing into the bane of every phone scammers’ existence.
Key Takeaways
- Google’s dialer app will soon warn about spam calls during calls, using real-time Gemini AI technology.
- The feature provides context-specific warnings, like in the case of scam callers asking for a money transfer.
- It’s unclear if the feature will expand beyond Pixel phones or include any cloud processing when it arrives.
Google’s dialer app will soon leverage Gemini AI to warn you of possible spam callers mid-phone conversation, the company has announced at its Google I/O 2024 conference.
“We’re testing a new feature that uses Gemini Nano to provide real-time alerts during a call if it detects conversation patterns commonly associated with scams,” says Google. What makes this feature stand out from other spam call filters is the real-time element at play, warning you of danger in a highly context-specific manner.
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On stage, Google gave the example of a bank representative calling and requesting the victim transfer money away from a ‘compromised account,’ which is a regrettably common form of Telecom fraud.
During the demo, once the perpetrator made mention of a money transfer, a bright red prompt appeared on screen reading “Likely scam. Banks will never ask you to move your money to keep it safe.” The additional note explaining why this is likely a scam is a nice addition to greater financial literacy for consumers.
This new suspected scams feature will utilize on-device AI, so none of your phone call data will be sent to the cloud for processing, according to Google. This is great news from a user privacy perspective, and it means you’ll have access to this extra layer of security even without an internet connection.
We don’t have a timeline for availability just yet
It’s unclear whether this Gemini AI-powered security feature will be made available on Android phones beyond Google’s in-house Pixel lineup. We also don’t yet have confirmation of when the feature will land in a stable release.
For now, Google is promising that it’ll ‘share more about this opt-in feature later this year.’ If I had to guess, we would likely see suspected scam alerts land right alongside the company’s upcoming Pixel 9 series of smartphones in the fall time frame.
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