Google Brings Some Pixel Safety Features to Android

It’s not just the Pixel family of products: Google separately announced four new features for supported Android versions today, too. And two of them are safety-related.

“Today, we’re sharing four new Android features that are designed to keep you connected and make life easier,” Google director Angana Ghosh writes. “You can receive alerts for suspicious conversations in Messages, easily find friends and family with live location sharing and play more games while parked.”

Here’s what’s new.

Scam Protection in Google Messages. As I noted in today’s Pixel Drop story, Scam Protection in the Google Phone app is perhaps the single best reason to choose a Pixel over an iPhone. And now it’s coming to Google Messages, too, using on-device AI to flag conversational text patterns commonly associated with scams. “If Google Messages suspects a scam, you’ll receive a real-time warning so you can easily block and report the conversation,” Google notes. “This feature can help protect you before you lose money or sensitive information. Scam Detection happens on your device, so your conversations remain private.” You can learn more on the Google Online Security blog.

Live location sharing in Find My Device. Also as with the Pixel Drive, you can now share your personal location using Find My Device in real time with others, no matter which type of device they use. And they can likewise share their location with you.

More gaming apps on Android Auto. When you’re parked, you can now play games like Farm Heroes Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Angry Birds 2 and Beach Buggy Racing on Android Auto after downloading them first to your phone.

Shopping improvements in Chrome. Chrome for Android now offers shopping insights and price tracking features (as it does on desktop and iOS, I believe). Just look for the “Price is low” notification in the browser’s address bar.

You can learn more on the What’s New page on the Android website.