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Google rolls out new Android scam protections and Messages upgrades
Google is introducing new Android scam protections, including Enhanced Protection in Messages, call-forwarding warnings, and screen-share privacy defenses.
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Google is introducing new Android scam protections, including Enhanced Protection in Messages, call-forwarding warnings, and screen-share privacy defenses.
Google is upgrading Android scam detection across Messages and calls, using Gemini models and new on-device checks to flag suspicious links and phone scams.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) has reshaped Google Messages, bringing read receipts, larger media attachments, and cross-platform messaging with iPhone users. RCS isn't without its own issues, though, and Messages has so far offered an easy way to opt out on a per-chat basis if it causes problems - a feature that now looks like it
Google Messages is now widely rolling out its new Keep Notes integration, following last week's September 2026 Android Drop announcement. Opening the “plus” menu inside a conversation reveals a new Keep Notes shortcut, and those pills can be reordered like usual. Alternatively, Google might surface a contextual “Create list” shortcut directly in the suggestions row.
Google is rolling out a new Motion Assist Android feature as part of its September Android Drop, giving phone users a screen-based tool meant to reduce motion sickness during car rides. The feature places moving dots near the edges of the display, aiming to help connect what a person's eyes see with the motion their
A locked Android phone may not be as locked as it seems. A reported WhatsApp behavior suggests that someone with physical access to a locked Android device could potentially reach the phone's photo gallery while answering an incoming WhatsApp video call, though the issue doesn't appear to affect every handset, with results reportedly varying by
Android and iOS still dominate mobile software almost everywhere, and escaping that duopoly is close to impossible even for advanced users. In the US, the options mostly come down to iOS 27 on the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro or Android 17 on phones like the Pixel 11 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Huawei, one
Google has kicked off its September Android Drop, a rollout of new features spanning Gemini, Find Hub, Google Messages, and accessibility tools built into Android. The update lets Gemini remember where users have stored physical items, adds a Guided vision mode to Gemini Live for blind and low-vision users, introduces a Motion Assist feature aimed
After the official shutdown of Samsung Messages, Google Messages is now likely the only major texting app remaining for Android users. It offers important capabilities like RCS support, end-to-end encryption, and more; however, it has been missing two basic yet important features. Fortunately, both appear headed for release soon, having reportedly surfaced in the app's
If Samsung Messages is still the default texting app on a Galaxy phone, July is going to require some attention. The app is being deactivated for US users, and texts, RCS conversations, and message history stored inside it won't move anywhere on their own. Everything is transitioning to Google Messages - and while the migration
Samsung has officially confirmed what many Galaxy users feared: Samsung Messages is going away. The app will be fully discontinued in July 2026. It's already been pulled from pre-installation on newer Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S26 series. Once July hits, you won't be able to download it from the Galaxy Store either. And shortly
Samsung recently established a clear schedule for discontinuing Samsung Messages, establishing Google Messages as the default messaging software on Galaxy phones. While this is ultimately a welcome shift, the fact that Samsung Messages no longer supports RCS has left some longstanding users wanting the customisation tools they were accustomed to. It appears that Google has taken note and is working on adding some fun features that Samsung Messages users will recognize. Currently, the only way to modify RCS chats in Google Messages is to use the “Change colors” option from the three-dot menu. This option allows you to alter the backdrop and chat bubble colors simultaneously, but that's all the personalization you can do in individual or group chats. In comparison, Samsung Messages
Text communications between iOS and Android users has historically proven more often than not problematic. However, new modifications are facilitating communication between the two platforms. After years of Google trying to convince Apple to adopt the new communications standard, RCS, the company is finally doing so. Users on both systems can share high-quality media, be
According to a tip from Android Authority and an APK breakdown, Samsung is included a new security tool in the next One UI 8 update. The “Alert Center,” a new feature, is supposed to provide customers with a more comprehensive alerting system for security and privacy issues. When an app uses the camera or microphone
Google Messages is starting to implement a Material 3 Expressive overhaul of just the conversation interface, following Gmail for certain users and Photos. Placing the message thread in a container with rounded corners at the top makes the app bar its own (darker) layer, which is the primary alteration to the conversation screen. The Gallery,
In order to provide Android users a 15-minute opportunity to remove an RCS text that shouldn't have ever left the phone in the first place, Google Messages is now testing a “Delete for everyone” option. The most recent beta version has led to early complaints that when you long press on a message, two options
Since its debut in 2016, Google Assistant has been a feature of the Android operating system. It is accessible by uttering the “OK Google” hot word, as a sticky widget in the dock, or in the news stream on the left side of your home screen. However, the assistant needed a makeover because AI was
Although we have known it was coming for almost a year, today is the day we have been waiting for: RCS compatibility is giving the texting experience between the stock messaging apps on Android and iPhone a significant boost. Rich conversations have long been supported by Android texting apps such as Google Messages, Samsung Messages,
Interesting changes are being made by Google to the Messages homescreen, including the removal of the navigation drawer and the addition of prominent branding to the Android app. The Google Messages homescreen has undergone another update with beta version 20230717 01 RC00. With this redesign, the message organization feature that had recently been enabled for beta users is not present. In the meantime, Google has slightly modified the search filters. This new appearance has not yet been implemented broadly. You only get a magnifying glass icon in place of
