Google has announced a new fake call detection feature for Android devices aimed at protecting users from AI-powered voice impersonation scams.
The feature, which is rolling out globally this month through the Phone by Google app on Android 12 and newer devices, will first become available on Google Pixel smartphones before expanding to other supported devices.
The new security tool is designed to combat a growing wave of scams in which fraudsters use artificial intelligence to mimic the voices of trusted contacts, family members, employers, or authority figures in an attempt to deceive victims.
According to Google, the feature works automatically in the background and is enabled by default. It verifies whether a call is genuinely originating from a trusted contact’s device through a secure authentication process.
Google explained that when two users are both using the Phone by Google app, the caller’s device sends a silent verification signal to the recipient’s phone at the start of the call. If a scammer attempts to spoof a trusted contact’s phone number using AI-generated voice technology, the verification signal will be absent.
In such cases, the recipient’s device will attempt to confirm whether the contact’s actual device is placing the call. If the genuine device indicates that no call is being made, Android will display a warning advising the user to end the conversation.
Google said the technology is built on Rich Communication Services (RCS), allowing other developers and organisations to potentially adopt the system in the future.
The announcement comes as cybercriminals increasingly turn to AI tools to create convincing voice clones and impersonation scams, exploiting the trust people place in familiar voices and caller identities.
In addition to the fake call detection feature, Google also unveiled several new Android capabilities. These include a Google Photos feature that allows users to virtually try on outfits and organise clothing items from their photo libraries, a new “Catch Me Up” tool in Google Play Books that provides story recaps, and enhanced Circle to Search functionality capable of identifying multiple items in an outfit simultaneously.
The updates form part of Google’s broader effort to integrate artificial intelligence into consumer products while strengthening user security and privacy protections.
