Scam messages aren’t always as obvious as a suspicious link or a text claiming you’ve won a lottery you never entered. Some scammers are clever enough to start perfectly normal conversations, gradually earn your trust, and only reveal what they are looking for when it is too late.
Google wants to make these tricks harder to pull off. Earlier this month, the company announced a new Enhanced Protection Mode for Google Messages, and it’s now rolling out to Android users. The optional setting adds more powerful AI-based scam detection, smarter checks for suspicious links, and extra warnings designed to prevent you from making a costly mistake.
Gemini learn to spot scams before you do
Google Messages already has built-in spam and scam detection, but its latest upgrade takes things further. Instead of looking for familiar warning signs, Enhanced Protection uses Google’s cloud-based Gemini models to understand conversations with people who aren’t in your contacts. Think of someone posing as a delivery agent or bank representative. Her first few messages may seem completely harmless, but the conversation could eventually turn into a request for money or personal information. Google’s updated detection aims to recognize these patterns earlier, even if the scam doesn’t follow an obvious script.
Of course, having AI analyze your private conversations raises some understandable privacy concerns. Google says the feature relies on its Private AI Compute technology, which encrypts message data and processes it in an isolated environment that even Google can’t access. Another layer of protection targets suspicious websites. On supported devices, the on-device Gemini Nano model works alongside live web information to assess unknown links, catching potentially dangerous websites that have not yet made it onto existing block lists. Google also introduces clearer warnings when someone outside of your contacts sends you a link, giving you another opportunity to think before you open it.
How to activate the enhanced protection in Google Messages
The good news is that you don’t have to dig through the Android system settings to find it. Open the Google Messages apptap on your Profile Imagego to Message settingsthen Protection & Security. Now, type Spam & Scam Protection. you find three Choices: Extended protection, standard protection and no protection. Standard Protection remains the default, so you have to select Enhanced Protection yourself to get the stronger security measures.
According to 9to5Google, the feature started appearing in the beta version of Google Messages 20261020_00_RC00although availability is still limited. There is another catch worth knowing. The smart link-checking feature currently supports the Pixel 10 series and newer, Samsung’s Galaxy S26 lineup, Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and several other devices. So, if the setting still doesn’t appear on your phone, there’s no need to panic. Google is rolling it out gradually, and it may take some time before everyone gets access.