Google Messages: Gemini will soon screen texts from unknown senders

Google is expanding scam protection in Google Messages with a new opt-in setting called Enhanced protection. Google's blog post from October 14 says that "Enhanced protection will be rolling out in the coming weeks." The company has not said which countries get it first.

Gemini checks conversations in the cloud

Google Messages already flags common scam texts on the device itself. The new mode also sends conversations with unknown senders to Google's cloud Gemini models. They are meant to read the wider context of a chat. That should help with slow-burn scams, where the sender only asks for money or data after a long run of harmless messages. Google says this analysis happens in Private AI Compute, where data is "encrypted and processed in a secure dedicated space" and stays "inaccessible to anyone else, including Google." The post does not say how long the data is kept or who audits that claim.

Extra link checks only on recent flagships

A second layer deals with links. Scammers keep registering new domains that are not on any blocklist yet. Gemini Nano then compares unfamiliar links against real-time web signals on the phone itself. Google limits this to the Pixel 10 and newer Pixel models, the Galaxy S26 series, the Galaxy Z Fold8, the Galaxy Z Flip8 and other select devices. The redesigned warnings for links from numbers outside your contacts reach far more phones. They work on Android 6 and later and were previously limited to certain countries or to phones with Android Advanced Protection turned on.

When your messages do go to Google

Google mentions one exception in a footnote. Reporting a text as spam in the app sends the message and its contents to Google for analysis. That step is optional and available on the Pixel 6 and later and on the Galaxy S24 series and later. Google says its Scam Detection in Phone by Google and Google Messages already flags more than 5 million suspected scam calls and texts every month. That figure comes from Google itself and has not been checked independently. Galaxy owners also get extra security features in One UI 9 that you have to switch on yourself.

New safeguards for call forwarding and screen sharing

The package also covers features outside Messages. Chrome and Android WebView will hide login fields and payment screens during screen sharing, and Google is rolling this out in October to devices on Android 15 and later. Scammers often redirect incoming calls to steal one-time passcodes, so Android now blocks apps from switching on call forwarding in the background. The system also warns you before a forwarding code takes effect if a caller talks you into typing it into the dialer. This starts in early December on Pixel phones and other select devices. Scam alerts in the notifications of popular chat apps have so far been a Pixel feature. Google plans to bring them to Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, Honor and other phone makers later this year.

Whether the mode is worth turning on comes down to how far you trust Google's promise about Private AI Compute. People who often get texts from unknown numbers gain an extra check. Anyone who wants to keep messages out of the cloud can leave the setting off and keep the existing on-device detection.