Google Introduces Android Safe Browsing with Real-Time Threat Defense: Exploring its Functionality
Enhanced Protection: Toggleable ‘Live Threat Protection’ for Accurate Threat Detection
Google is unveiling a cutting-edge security addition for Android smartphones, aimed at safeguarding users against potentially harmful links encountered within applications. Termed as ‘Android Safe Browsing,’ this feature extends support to third-party apps, proactively notifying users upon encountering malicious links or websites.
Insights shared by Android expert Mishaal Rahman suggest that this functionality has been identified on Google Pixel devices and Samsung Galaxy handsets. Anticipated to expand its reach through Google Play Services, this feature will offer users the flexibility to toggle its activation, ensuring personalized security preferences.
As Rahman outlined via X (formerly known as Twitter), select Android smartphones are showcasing a novel ‘Android Safe Browsing’ page, detailing its capabilities in detecting and notifying users about hazardous links and web pages encountered within supported applications. The feature’s description underscores its efficacy in shielding users from phishing attempts, further bolstering user confidence in their online safety.
It is currently unclear which third party apps will offer support for Google’s new Android Safe Browsing feature, and the Supported apps section in the screenshot does not mention the names of any applications. Rahman says that the feature could be using a library called the SafetyNet Safe Browsing API to allow apps to check whether a link has been designated as a known threat by Google.
The same settings page also shows a toggle called Use live threat protection which is claimed to use the “latest version of Safe Browsing” and offer more accurate detection of threats. It is unclear whether the toggle is turned on by default of whether users will have to opt in to use the feature.
According to Rahman, the new Android Safe Browsing page is located under Settings > Security & privacy > More security and privacy in the settings app on Google’s Pixel phones. Similarly, Samsung Galaxy smartphone owners can access the feature under Settings > Security & Privacy.
The new Android Safe Browsing feature is yet to roll out to Gadgets 360 staff members’ smartphones, but it is expected to arrive on more smartphones as part of a Google Play Services update, according to Rahman. The company is likely to announce more details regarding the feature when it begins to roll out to more users in the future.
