Google adds cloud AI scam checks to Messages protection

Google announced an opt-in protection mode for Google Messages that will use cloud-based Gemini models to assess conversations with unrecognized senders. The setting will roll out in the coming weeks, extending existing on-device scam detection to conversations in which scammers conceal their intentions over time. Google says the analysis encrypts user data and processes it in a dedicated space inaccessible to the company. The mode also uses Gemini Nano on the device to check unfamiliar links before users open them. Other announced safeguards block apps from enabling call forwarding and conceal sensitive information during screen sharing in Chrome and Android WebView.