Google introduces live call spam, malicious app detection features on Pixel phones

Google Pixel

Google has introduced two new artificial intelligence (AI) safety tools for its Pixel smartphones to protect against spam calls or malicious apps. The first is Scam Detection in Phone by Google, which in real time monitors ongoing conversations to determine whether an incoming call could be a scam. The second feature is named Google Play Protect real-time alerts, which monitor the background activity of an app to issue a warning in real-time alerting the user.

Google’s AI-powered Play Protect and Scam Detection: Key details

Google, via its new blog post, has confirmed that these live threat detection features with real-time alerts in Google Play Protect are now available on Google Pixel 6 and newer Pixel models. The Scam Detection in Phone feature will initially be available only in the US to those who have signed up for the Google Beta Programme, with a rollout to other regions and Android smartphone users in the coming months.

However, the Scam Detection feature will only work on English language phone calls. It is different from typical caller ID apps and services, which use phone numbers and track calling behaviour to determine if a number is associated with scams. Instead, the Scam Detection feature uses on-device AI to monitor for common scam indicators during phone conversations. If signs of fraud are detected, the system flags the call and notifies users to hang up.

The second security feature, named Play Protect, analyses behavioural signals related to the use of sensitive permissions and interactions with other apps and services. With this AI-powered Live Threat Detection feature, this AI tool will monitor all the installed apps on eligible Android devices. Additionally, if an app shows suspicious background activity or unnecessary interaction with other apps, the tool will issue a warning in real-time, alerting the user to remove any such app.