- Google is introducing the Enhanced Fraud Protection feature for Android users in India.
- It will block high-risk installations of apps from unknown sources if it detects the app is asking for sensitive information.
- The feature was previously tested in Singapore for 6 months when it blocked 900,000 malicious installations.
In the last few years, we’ve seen Google double down on Android safety features via Google Play Protect. At the “Google for India” event, the company announced that it’s bringing an Enhanced fraud protection feature to Android users in India. Here’s everything you need to know.
To avoid instances where users may install malicious apps that may steal their data, the Enhanced Fraud Protection feature will block the installation of apps, that you are trying to sideload from your web browser or any third-party app store. This will only affect apps that try to capture sensitive information from your device, which usually results in financial scams.
The program was previously tested in Singapore for 6 months, where it prevented 900,000 high-risk installations. After a successful trial, Google is bringing Enhanced Fraud Protection over to India, where such activities are quite common.
This will be a part of the Digi Kavach program, which Google launched last year for India. The search giant is working with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and onboarded Google Play on the National Cyber Crime reporting portal to quickly identify and investigate financial fraud activities.
Given a lot of people here easily fall for financial scams by downloading a malicious app unknowingly, this new Fraud protection feature will be quite helpful for them. Especially the elderly, who can’t tell any better from a Play Store version of an app and a suspicious-looking version of it online. What are your thoughts about this Enhanced Security Feature? Let us know in the comments.
