Google ‘Android Safe Browsing’ rolls out to combat phishing and malware

Looking up websites or clicking on links today is no different than playing a round of Minesweeper. After all, with so many instances of potentially harmful communication being floated across emails and messages, it becomes challenging to tell what is and isn’t a threat to your smartphone.

But all that might soon be a thing of the past, as Google has introduced a browsing feature that will help you better your online experience. Known as Android Safe Browsing, the feature will let users know of any threat while clicking a harmful in-app link.

What can Android Safe Browsing do?

The feature was first noticed by Android tipster Mishaal Rahman, who highlighted it via a post on X (formerly Twitter). He goes on to mention how Android Safe Browsing will “alert you to security threats, like harmful links and webpages, when you browse within supported apps”. He further states how users will receive an alert on tapping a link that could take them to a phishing site.

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The alert or notification will be a brief about the potential dangers of browsing the site. If deemed fit, users may choose to go ahead with it. It also will provide live threat protection, which is a “more accurate threat detection” tool for websites.

Who can use the Android Safe Browsing app?

It remains unclear as to which third-party apps will support this feature. However, according to the post, the list might include apps that use the SafetyNet Safe Browsing API. It is further seeded into Google Play Services and will let apps check “to determine whether Google has classified a particular URL as a known threat”.

Android Safe Browsing will reportedly also allow Android apps to conserve battery and limit bandwidth usage. Apart from this, it will even limit the exposure to malicious apps and websites that could harm your phone.

How to get the Android Safe Browsing extension on your smartphone

The tool will be a part of Google Play Services and be automatically included after an update from the Google Play Store. The feature has currently only been seen on Google and Samsung devices. It was first observed on a beta version of Google Play Services in October 2023. However, Android Safe Browsing will soon be extended to other Android devices as well.