Google's got an easy new way to keep you safe from scam calls

Compared to modern, secure communication systems, the ancient public telephone network has long felt like a weak link. While we still rely upon it to receive important information, it’s far too easy for bad actors to take advantage of its limitations, and try and fool us by impersonating callers we trust. Thankfully, Google’s been working on a solution, and shares how its new tool is going to work as part of today’s June Android Drop announcements.

Unlike call authentication protocols like STIR/SHAKEN that operate on a network level and require carrier support, Google’s new system is much simpler to implement widely, and operates more person-to-person. Basically, when you get an incoming call from one of your known contacts, your phone will silently communicate with the remote phone over an encrypted RCS link in order to verify the caller is who you expect it to be.

Even if someone’s able to spoof the incoming number, or maybe even use an AI tool to fake the caller’s voice, they wouldn’t be able to successfully respond to that encrypted RCS authentication step.

Being able to take advantage of these protections requires you to have Google Contacts and Messages installed, and both users will need to use Google’s Phone app. But even with all that Google software required, this isn’t destined to be a Pixel exclusive.

Availability will start with Pixel devices, to be fair, but Google says that it plans to extend support to other Android 12 and later handsets. That’s great to hear, because the more people out there running an easy-to-use call verification system like this, the more secure all of us can feel about knowing we’re talking to the person we think we are.