Google Cracks Down on Scam in Pixel Phones With New Feature Drop

Google is cracking down on scams that phoney callers and texters try to lure people into with the new software update for Pixel phones. Rolling out as part of the March Pixel Drop, the new Scam Detection feature uses artificial intelligence to understand patterns of bad actors and alerts users when a call or message has been identified as a potential scam.

Scam Detection uses Google’s Gemini Nano foundational model with multimodality to detect scams in phone calls and text messages in real-time. Integrated into the Phone by Google and Google Messages app, Scam Detection uses on-device AI to detect conversation patterns in calls and text messages “commonly used by scammers.” This, the company said, helps it identify phone calls and text messages “that seem harmless, but turn dangerous over time.”

During calls, the Pixel phone will alert the user that the call is “likely [a] scam,” giving them the option to end the call or mark the call as “not a scam.” Similarly, when a message is identified as a scam, Google Messaes shows an alert in the conversation that reads: “Suspicious activity detected. Common scams often start this way.” Users can either “report & block” the sender or mark it as “not a scam.”

“You’ll receive a real-time warning so you can easily block and report the conversation,” said Aisha Sharif, Product Manager for Pixel Phone at Google.

Other features

The March Pixel Drop also upgrades Gemini Live, using 2.0 Flash to offer improved understanding and better multilingual conversations. Gemini Live now supports over 45 languages spoken in any combination without needing the user to change language settings. Gemini Live is also now available to Pixel 6 or higher models, including the Pixel Fold. Its future version will add live video and screen-sharing capabilities, which Google demoed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Pixel phones can now organise screenshots better by “automatically suggesting screenshots to add to your collections.” The Pixel Screenshots app now supports work profiles, allowing users to organise receipts from “client dinners, expense reports, and more.”

The new update also adds new image-generation capabilities in Pixel Studio. Google has also expanded Satellite SOS to more regions, including Hawaii, Alaska, Europe, and Canada.

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