Google rolls out Verified calls feature on Android to help tackle spam calls

Google has announced a new feature called “Verified calls” that works in the Phone app on Android devices. The feature helps users distinguish between a genuine business call and a possible fraud phone call. 

Verified calls is being rolled out in India, US, Mexico, Brazil, Spain in the first phase and other countries are expected to receive it soon. Google, in its blog post, cited a 2019 FTC report stating that phone calls were the number one way people reported being contacted by scammers. While most people said they hung up on those calls, those who lost money reported a median loss of $1,000. 

Google aims to solve this issue with Verified calls. The feature will show users the caller’s name, logo, the reason for calling and a verification symbol indicating the business has been authenticated by Google. Verified Calls is a feature on Google’s Phone app, which comes pre-loaded on many Android phones and will be available for download starting later this week on even more Android devices.

The search engine giant further said that the details are displayed in a secure manner and it does not collect or store any personally identifiable information after verification. In its pilot tests, Google found likely to answer phone calls when the feature is enabled.