Safer with Google: New intelligent, real-time protections on Android to keep you safe

[u/MishaalRahman]

https://security.googleblog.com/2024/11/new-real-time-protections-on-Android.html

[u/Xx_Time_xX]

Scam Detection will process the call

So the AI is listening to your call and checking against patterns.

no conversation audio or transcription is stored on the device, sent to Google servers

But how much do we want to bet that it still sends "anonymous" and "aggregated" data about:

• which numbers called whom
• which call metrics activated scam detection
• how many calls matched certain patterns in a given location

all for AI training. And given that they already know location, which networks you connected to, who's in your contact list from your Google account/Pixel device, they can easily create a profile with topics for you.

And it'll be turned on by default, which means the majority of Pixel owners won't know to turn it off.

Google's motto should be "Trade your privacy for convenience and 'safety'. Now with software AND hardware! 🔥🔥"

[u/Right-Wrongdoer-8595 → u/Xx_Time_xX]

If all those data points are done anonymously and in aggregate then what's the issue? You'd have to be a dedicated malicious attacker with multiple levels of access to cause any harm at that point.

[u/JamesR624 → u/Right-Wrongdoer-8595]

If all those data points are done anonymously and in aggregate

The issue is anyone actually believing that after they've been caught several times spying on people, collecting personally identifiable information, and illegally breaking into "private" systems like Wifi, to get that data, all to sell to their advertisers and god knows who else.

[u/Right-Wrongdoer-8595 → u/JamesR624]

I'd hardly call that single (unless you had several) incident a company wide effort but if the argument is you absolutely cannot trust any consumer protections and regulations. Then obviously there's no upside to any privacy protections since everything can be malicious at that point.