Android is adding Gemini scam checks to Google Messages and hiding bank details during screen sharing

Google is adding a new layer of scam protection to Android phones, led by an opt-in mode in Google Messages that sends conversations with unknown senders to its Gemini AI models for a second opinion.

The changes, announced in a Google blog post on 14 October, also cover links in text messages, screen sharing in Chrome and call forwarding. Some arrive this month and others over the coming weeks and months. Google hasn’t said which countries will get each feature, so Australians may not see all of them straight away.

Enhanced protection mode in Google Messages

The headline change is a new setting in Google Messages called enhanced protection mode, which Google says is rolling out “in the coming weeks”. It’s opt-in, and switching it on unlocks three things:

• Scam Detection with cloud Gemini. In conversations with unknown senders, Google’s cloud Gemini models assess what the sender is trying to do. This adds to the on-device scam detection Messages already runs. Google says the processing uses its Private AI Compute system, with the data encrypted and “inaccessible to anyone else, including Google”.
• Smarter link checks. Gemini Nano, the model that runs on the phone itself, uses real-time web signals to judge unfamiliar links before you tap them. Google lists the Pixel 10 and later, the Galaxy S26 series, the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold8, and other select devices.
• Checkpoints for unfamiliar links. Redesigned warnings appear before you open a link from a number that isn’t in your contacts. Google says these work on Android 6 and later, where previously they were limited to select countries or phones with Advanced Protection turned on.

Because the mode is opt-in, nothing changes until you switch it on. It’s worth weighing up: the cloud check means message content from unknown senders leaves the phone for Google’s servers, even though Google says it can’t read it.

Screen sharing, notifications and call forwarding

Three other changes reach beyond Messages:

• Screen-share privacy in Chrome. Android already hides sensitive screens in native apps during live screen sharing. Rolling out this month on Android 15 and later, that extends to Chrome and Android WebView, blanking login fields and payment screens. Google gives the example of typing a password or a card’s security code while sharing your screen.
• Scam alerts in chat notifications. Warnings in the notification shade for third-party chat apps have already launched on Pixel. Google says they’re coming “later this year” to phones from HONOR, Infinix, iQOO, itel, JOVI, Motorola, OPPO, OnePlus, realme, TECNO, vivo and Xiaomi, with availability varying by manufacturer.
• Call-forwarding protection. From early December, on Pixel and other select phones, Android will block apps from quietly switching on call forwarding in the background, and will warn you before a forwarding code you’ve typed into the dial pad takes effect. Google says scammers redirect calls to steal one-time passcodes and take over accounts.

What’s available in Australia now

Google’s post doesn’t include a country list for the new features. Its Scam Detection help page does list Australia for the existing alerts on chat notifications, which work in English and eight other languages, are on by default and are available on select Android devices. Google says message content “isn’t sent to Google, unless you choose to share it” for that feature.

For calls, Google’s Call Scam Detection help page says the feature works in Australia on the Pixel 9 and later, with an Australian SIM while you’re in Australia. It’s off by default, so you have to switch it on.

When Google first launched Scam Detection in Google Messages in March 2025, it started in English in the US, UK and Canada. On our reading, the new Messages features could follow a similar staged path, so check your settings rather than assuming they’ve arrived.

Phone-level protection helps, but it doesn’t replace checking who you’re dealing with. Businesses that text customers can make their own messages easier to trust by registering their sender name, which our story on the SMS Sender ID Register explains.

Checklist

• Update Google Messages and Android. Install pending updates from the Play Store and your phone’s system update settings so new protections can reach your phone.
• Look for enhanced protection mode in Google Messages. Once it appears in settings, decide whether you’re comfortable with unknown-sender conversations being checked by Google’s cloud Gemini models.
• Check Scam Detection on supported phones. Open Settings, search for Scam Detection and make sure message scam alerts are on.
• Stop screen sharing if a caller asks for it. Hiding bank details in Chrome only works on Android 15 and later, and the safest step is not to share your screen with someone who called you.
• Turn on Call Scam Detection on a Pixel 9 or later. It’s off by default; switch it on in the Phone app’s settings.
• Check call forwarding. Look in your phone’s call settings or your carrier’s settings and turn off any forwarding you didn’t set up.
• Treat links from unknown numbers with suspicion. Open the company’s app or type its web address yourself rather than tapping a link in a text.