The holiday season has arrived, and we're celebrating with a bundle of new features from Android.
Cybercriminals are targeting smartphones and tablets more than ever before. That’s because people are spending more time on their mobile devices, and they’re using them to send and store significant amounts of valuable data — like banking information, healthcare data and passwords. Cybercriminals are also targeting mobile devices because of their smaller screen sizes and frequent app and messaging notifications, which make it more difficult to verify if a sender is legitimate.
These criminals are increasingly using phishing attacks, scams and malware to obtain sensitive financial information or account passwords. In fact, during the pandemic, phishing attacks grew by 600% and became the top infection method in 2021.
Phishing attempts can come from a variety of sources like emails, text messages, voice calls and even third-party messaging apps. So it’s critical to have a layered security approach in place to defend from many angles. To help ensure we’re providing strong protection on Android, we hired a third-party security lab to evaluate our features and functionality that help protect you from scam and phishing attacks on your mobile devices. The report concluded that Android devices provide more features for scam and phishing protection than other mobile operating systems
For Cybersecurity Awareness Month, let’s take a closer look at these features and ways you can further protect your devices.
Attackers often use text messages since they’re an easy channel to reach people. Messages by Google uses machine learning models to help proactively detect 1.5 billion spam, phishing and scam messages every month. It looks for known patterns and either diverts bad messages into the spam folder or warns you if it notices something suspicious.
Messages by Google detects 1.5 billion spam, phishing and scams messages every month.
Messages are analyzed with your privacy in mind, so they stay on your device and are never shared with anyone. You can, however, report a message to Google to help protect others. Gmail, the default email app on most Android phones, is also highly effective at flagging malicious messages, automatically blocking 99.9% of spam, phishing and malware.
Attackers today aren’t just using text messages and emails to phish for data. We’ve seen a 5x increase in the number of attacks involving phone calls, where a criminal tries to impersonate your bank or IT department to get you to hand over your credentials. Phone by Google provides multiple security defenses to help protect against attacks like these — from built-in caller ID and spam protection to Call Screen.
Many phishing and scam attempts try to get you to visit a malicious page impersonating a legitimate-looking site to enter your credentials, steal your social security number or download malware. Safe Browsing on Android protects 3 billion devices globally and helps warn you about potentially risky sites, downloads and extensions. It offers broad protection throughout your Android experience — from browsing on Chrome and other browsers to connecting to the web through social media apps
Safe Browsing helps defend you from dangerous websites and malicious files whether you're on a browser or an app.
Even if you download an app outside of Google Play, Google Play Protect checks the installation and can warn you about a harmful or malicious app. Play Protect also scans all the apps on your device every day for harmful ones, even if you’re offline.
On Android phones running version 7.0 and up, you can use the built-in security key for additional protection. When you or someone else tries to sign into your Google account, you’ll get a notification on your phone asking to confirm that it’s you.
And it’s always good to regularly do a Security Checkup, which you can access right from your device settings. It’ll provide personalized security tips for your account, remind you to keep your passwords up to date, and share what devices you’re currently signed in on and what apps have access to your data.
Learn more about how you and your data are safer with Google on Android devices.
We use messaging apps to feel connected, without the headache of needing to know what phone or network we’re on. That is why our focus with Messages by Google is to help you build connections. It’s also built around RCS, a modern messaging protocol that supports richer text features, higher resolution images and videos, and enables end-to-end encryption. With RCS, we can give everyone a secure and modern messaging experience. We continue to advocate for RCS across the industry so key players #GetTheMessage and make the experience better for everyone.
As RCS adoption accelerates, we’re doing what’s possible to improve messaging between Android and iOS, like adding support for reactions. This builds on a suite of features that you already love, like an organized inbox that separates personal and business messages, the ability to share sharper videos and scheduled messages. And we’re doing even more.
Here are 10 ways Messages is evolving with safer, smarter and more modern features.
1. Ever been in a chat where the conversation with friends is flowing and you’re catching up with tons of messages? Soon you’ll be able to respond to an individual message in a conversation when RCS is enabled, making it easier to respond to a specific message without breaking the flow.
2. Earlier this year, we started displaying emoji reactions from iPhone users on your Android phone. Now we’re taking a step further by letting you react to SMS texts from iPhone users with emoji as well. While RCS is the ultimate solution, we're doing what we can to help Android users have a way to consistently react to messages.
3. We’re making voice messages more accessible. Using machine learning, Voice Message Transcription auto-transcribes the message so you can access it with ease. Say you’re in a crowded space and get an audio message from a loved one: transcripts will let you “view” the audio like you would a traditional text message. In addition to Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, this feature is also available on Pixel 6, Pixel 6A, Pixel 6 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy Fold 4.
4. Reminders are now included directly in Messages to help you remember important moments without navigating across several apps on your phone. Remind yourself to call Mom on her birthday, or schedule that appointment during regular business hours. And if you save someone’s birthday or anniversary in your phone’s contacts app, you’ll get a gentle reminder about them when you open the Messages app.
5. You can now watch YouTube videos within Messages without ever leaving the app. So when someone sends you a YouTube link, you can quickly watch and respond without the hassle of switching back and forth.
6. If you are like me and always scrolling through messages endlessly to find the address that your friend sent you a while back, we got you covered. Messages will now intelligently suggest you “star” messages that contain texts like addresses, door codes and phone numbers to help you easily keep track and quickly find important conversations.
7. Sometimes texting is too slow and impersonal, so you need to get yourself on a video call. Messages will recognize texts like “Can you talk now?” and suggest a Meet call by showing an icon right next to the message. It will also suggest adding calendar events for messages like “Let’s meet at 6pm on Tuesday”, to help you stay on top of important events.
8. In some countries, we’re experimenting with a feature that lets you chat with businesses you found on Search and Maps directly through Messages, so all conversations appear in one place that’s searchable, private and secure. You can plan your next trip, score tickets to the big game and find deals from your favorite retailers — all without leaving the Messages app.
9. Messages work across your favorite devices, from your phone to Chromebook to your smartwatch. Try sending a message from your new Pixel Watch by asking Google Assistant.
10. Your messaging apps should work wherever you are—even in the air! That's why we partnered with United Airlines to offer messaging on United flights, when you have RCS turned on. It will be available on United WiFi for most carriers starting this fall, with broader support coming soon.
A fresh new look
We’re updating the Messages icon over the coming weeks to better reflect today's modern messaging experience and share the same look as many of Google's other products. It takes more than one side to have a conversation, and that’s reflected in the design, with overlapping messaging bubbles coming together as one.
Our Phone and Contacts apps will also be updated with the same look and feel to signal their shared purpose: helping you communicate.
Each is designed to adapt to Material You themes, so they can always match your personal style. And of course, we obsessed over every pixel to ensure these new icons are instantly recognizable as communication tools and accessible to everyone.
There’s more to come as we continue to build new tools and features into the app — all with the safety and security of Google. Download the Messages app on Google Play today to give it a spin, and try out the new features that will begin rolling out in the coming weeks.
When we introduced Android (Go edition) five years ago, we tailored our core mobile platform to power affordable phones with limited memory and storage. This need is just as pertinent today, with nearly 180 million people coming online in the last twelve months alone.
As we announce the release of Android 13 (Go edition), we’re marking a milestone, too: there are now over 250 million monthly active devices powered by Android Go.
To better serve this growing set of users, we focused on three critical qualities: reliability, usability and customization. Let’s walk through what’s new in this release.
Updating the software in a phone takes a lot of storage space, which most entry-level devices can’t afford to lose. With Android 13 (Go edition), we’re bringing Google Play System Updates to Go devices which helps ensure devices can regularly receive important software updates, outside of the major Android release. This will make the delivery of critical updates quick and simple without compromising storage availability on the device. The result is a phone that stays up to date over time — and you don’t have to wait for the next release or a software push from your phone’s manufacturer to have the latest and greatest.
Android (Go edition) has built-in intelligence that helps you get more from your phone. This release brings you the Discover feature, letting you swipe right from your home screen to see a curated list of articles and other content.
Everyone should be able to adjust their phone to fit their needs and to reflect their tastes. This new release brings Material You to Android Go for the first time, so you can customize your entire phone’s color scheme to coordinate with your wallpaper. When you set your wallpaper image, you’ll see four corresponding color schemes to choose from. Besides making for a beautiful home screen, the dynamic coloring really helps make your smartphone feel unique to you.
In addition to the new features that are tailored to the needs of Go users, this update also brings some of key Android 13 features like Notification Permissions, App Language Preferences and more. Our goal with this release is to support more possibilities for the millions of current and future owners of an Android Go device. Look out for new devices launching with Android 13 (Go edition) in 2023.
Tablets let you browse the web at home or on the go, whether you’re shopping for a new TV or finishing up some work. With the next release of Chrome on Android, we make it easier to navigate between tabs and get work done faster on your tablets.
Here’s a closer look at the latest Chrome updates available now on all Android tablets, and on the new Pixel Tablet, when it launches next year.
It can sometimes be challenging to grab the right tab on a smaller screen, especially when you have a bunch of tabs open. That’s why we added a new side-by-side design that makes finding the right tab easier in Chrome. If you’re switching back and forth between two tabs, the auto-scroll back feature can help you swipe back to your previous tab. And to help prevent you from accidentally closing tabs in the first place, we’ll hide the close button when tabs become too small. If you close a tab you didn’t intend to, one-step restore can get you right back to where you were.
If you constantly have lots of open tabs, the visual tab grid is perfect for you. Instead of searching through all your tabs in one single horizontal stream, tabs are shown in a grid, with a preview that helps you navigate with fewer taps. Visual tabs also help if you have a foldable device, because the smaller, folded screen on the outside matches the bigger screen on the inside of your tablet.
To help you share and save content while you browse, you can now easily drag images, text and links that spark your interest from Chrome and drop them into another app like Gmail, Photos or Keep.
Sometimes, a website on a tablet just doesn't feel the same as it does on your computer. If a website isn’t working the way it should on your tablet or you just prefer the desktop experience, you can set Chrome to always request and display the desktop version of the site. This may give you capabilities that are currently only found on the desktop version, like certain menus and buttons.
If you use Chrome on your computer, you probably already know how convenient tab groups are. Keep an eye out — tab groups are coming soon to Chrome on Android tablets. You'll be able to stay organized by grouping related tabs together so you can better focus on one task without seeing the clutter from other open tabs.
No matter if you prefer using a mouse, a stylus or your finger, the Chrome on Android experience should be as intuitive and familiar on tablets as on your computer or phone. We're constantly exploring new ways to make it easier and more enjoyable to use Chrome on your Android tablet — whether it’s easier navigation with the visual tab grid, switching to desktop mode or finding the tab quickly.
We’ve dedicated the last several years to creating products and services that have families in mind. Our goal is to allow kids of all ages to explore the best of what technology has to offer, in a safer way. We respect that each family’s relationship with technology is unique, so we want to give parents the tools and flexibility they need to find the right balance for their families — while also delivering more age-appropriate experiences.
Today, we're updating Family Link and Google TV with experiences for parents and kids alike, to help families build healthy, positive digital habits together.
Over the last five years, the Family Link app on Android and iOS have been helping families stay safer online. Whether it’s with your child’s first Android phone or exploring content on YouTube and Google TV, we’ve provided parents with the tools to set screen time limits and guide children to age-appropriate content.
Based on parents’ feedback, we redesigned Family Link to bring our tools to the forefront and make them easier to use. Across the Controls, Location and Highlights tabs, you’ll find new experiences like “Today Only” screen time limits, alerts for when your children arrive and leave a location and recommended content from trusted partners around online safety.
For easier access, parents and their children can also access Family Link online in a new web experience. Stay tuned for these changes to start rolling out today and complete over the next few weeks.
Google TV is an entertainment experience made for the whole family and its kids profiles are easy to use for kids of all ages. With the addition of managed watchlists, Google-powered kids recommendations and supervised accounts on YouTube, Google TV’s kids profiles just got even more helpful.
Bringing recommendations and watchlists to kids profiles makes it easier to find the perfect shows and movies. Kids can easily browse top entertainment from their approved apps, and you can build a “must watch” list just for them from their TV and mobile device. And for parents with older kids who are ready to move on from YouTube Kids, their tweens can now use a supervised Google Account to start exploring YouTube on their Google TV kids profile. These updates will also start rolling out today and complete over the next few weeks.
Regardless of the brand or device, we believe you should be able to benefit from the same quality experiences. Whether it’s for entertainment on Google TV or to help guide your child’s online experience with Family Link, we hope you’ll check out and enjoy these new updates on your devices.
Five years ago, we introduced Family Link to give families tools that respect their individual choices with technology and enable them to create healthy, positive digital habits. Since then, we’ve seen how Family Link’s controls and settings, including screen time limits and content filters to find age-appropriate content, have helped families across the world find the right balance for them.
Today, we are announcing a new Family Link experience that offers the same flexibility and choice, and helps make it easier for you to keep your family safer online.
We have redesigned Family Link to bring our most-used tools to the forefront. Parents will find their favorite features (like screen time limits and blocking and approving apps) in an all-new experience, and a central place for viewing requests and notifications. We’re also bringing new features that parents are asking for.
Parents have told us that some of Family Link’s most helpful features are tools to manage screen time and guide kids to age-appropriate content. Now, we’ve made them easier to use. The Controls tab enables parents to supervise with the ability to set screen time limits for each device or for specific apps, set content restrictions and manage app data permissions.
We understand there are times when you just want to temporarily change screen time settings in case your child needs a bit more time, like if you’re on a vacation or they simply must finish the last two minutes of their favorite show. Parents can now set “Today Only” screen time limits that override general screen time settings, and adjust them for one day without changing the rest of the settings and limits.
Having peace of mind about where your child is goes a long way. On the Location tab, you can see all of your children on the same map with their device location. You’ll also find other useful features like battery life and the ability to ring your child’s device to find it – like when it’s hidden between the couch cushions. And now, you can turn on notifications to be alerted when your child arrives at or leaves a specific destination like school or soccer practice.
We know parents are busy, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with what kids are doing. The Highlights tab shows a snapshot of your child’s app usage, screen time and recently installed apps, so you can understand how your child has been using their device. We’re also adding resources from trusted partners like Common Sense Media, ConnectSafely and the Family Online Safety Institute to help you navigate conversations around online safety at home. We’re just getting started with the Highlights tab, and will be updating this section over time with more helpful insights and content.
We’ve created a central place for you to receive requests from your child and view your notifications. By tapping on the notifications bell at the top of your app, you’ll be able to keep an eye on important updates and see requests from your children for app downloads, purchases and access to blocked websites.
Family Link is also now available on the web for you and your children. If you’re away from your phone or don’t have the app, you’ll still have access to the features you need online. For your children, their Family Link web experience will help them better understand their parental control settings.
These updates will start rolling out today and will be complete over the next few weeks. Keep an eye out and learn more at g.co/familylink.
We built Nearby Share to make it easier to send your content across your devices that are nearby, whether it’s a photo, link, document or even a Wi-Fi password. There are so many ways Nearby Share can help you throughout your day — and some you might not even know about.
To learn more about the technology and how it works, I sat down with Alice Zheng, the product lead for Nearby Share, to have her walk me through some of my most common scenarios.
Can I share files between my own devices?
Yes! In fact, this is one of the most common ways people use Nearby Share. Not only can you share files between your own devices, the process is getting even easier.
In the coming weeks, we’re introducing a new update that makes it faster to share files on your own Android devices with Nearby Share. This means that devices logged into your Google account will automatically accept your transfers. This feature will be rolling out over the next few weeks and will be available on devices running Android 6 and above.
Does Nearby Share only work on my phone?
Nope! You can use Nearby Share across Android phones and tablets, as well as Chrome OS devices. We are also hard at work bringing Nearby Share to the devices that you most frequently use and would want to share files with, and that includes support for more platforms, like Windows PCs, over time.
If my phone doesn’t have Internet service, can I still get the funny photo my friend took of me on our hike?
Absolutely! Nearby Share works even when you don’t have Internet service. We use a variety of connection technologies, including Bluetooth, WiFi, NFC, UWB and WebRTC, to automatically find an efficient way for your friend to send you the photo, even if you’re not online.
Can anyone send me files?
There are various ways to share and receive files and it is all up to what you want. With Nearby Share, we offer a set of device visibility settings so you have control over your privacy and how you appear to others. Your device can be visible to Everyone, a subset of your Contacts or just your own devices.
For Everyone, you can choose to have this mode on temporarily or all the time. This means if you just met someone and they aren’t saved to your contacts, but you want to get a photo from them, you can turn this on to have them send you a file. Then, your setting will automatically switch back to your last used setting. If you have your setting set to Everyone all the time, we will also send you a reminder in case you want to change it.
Under Contacts, you have the option to have your device visible to all your saved contacts, or you can select only a subset of contacts to be visible to. And the last option, Your devices, allows you to only be visible to other devices that are logged into your Google account.
Can I send files to anyone?
Just like how we protect your privacy by giving you control on who can discover you, you will also be able to share files with devices that are made visible to you.
To protect your privacy, your Google account profile image will only be visible to people in your contact list. Others will see a generic device icon next to the device name you choose for yourself. This way, you won’t need to worry about disclosing your account information like when sharing directions with a stranger.
But wait - I'm afraid strangers are going to send me inappropriate stuff if I leave my device visible to everyone. How can I stay protected?
As I mentioned, you can control your visibility settings with the options available in Nearby Share; we also offer other features to protect your privacy. With Nearby Share, we will first show you who is trying to send you a file and what the file name is, and only after you accept the transfer will we show you the actual photo or video. This way if you’re somewhere public and you receive a share request, you’ll never have to see a preview of something you don’t want to unless you first accept. And if you’ve made yourself visible to Everyone, with one quick tap you can turn this off and stop receiving sharing requests from people you don’t trust.
The team behind Android is always working on new features to help you stay productive, communicate with loved ones and enjoy entertainment across devices. From easier sharing, redesigned experiences for apps and watches to new ways to host game nights, here’s what’s new.
Nearby Share lets you easily and securely share files between nearby Android phones, tablets and Chromebooks, whether they’re photos or videos or even entire folders. In the next few weeks, you’ll be able to use Nearby Share to effortlessly transfer files across your own devices. Just select Android devices logged into your Google account from the sharing menu to quickly share files between them. And once you’ve opted in, transfers between devices you own are automatically accepted — even if your screen is off.
Transfer files easier across your own devices with Nearby Share.
We recently introduced a new look and updated Google Workspace apps for bigger screens. We’re continuing to optimize your favorite Google apps on tablets to make multi-tasking a breeze, starting with redesigned widgets for Google Drive and Keep.
With an updated Google Drive widget, three home screen buttons now offer one-touch access to your Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets files. And in Google Keep, a bigger widget and font size makes note-taking, to-do lists, and reminders easy to access.
It’s sometimes easier to express yourself with emoji than with text, so we're adding features to help you say exactly what you mean.
Say you want to add the right emphasis to what you’re saying without the added effort of selecting emoji one at a time. Gboard now lets you “emojify” your messages. Just type your sentence, hit the ✨Emojify✨ button to select your preferred layout and press send to add the right ? emoji ? magic ? to share with your friends. This feature is now available in the Gboard Beta app in English, and is coming to all Gboard English typers over the next weeks.
Use Gboard to instantly express yourself with emoji in one tap.
By popular demand, we’ve added tons of new Emoji Kitchen mashups, available as stickers via Gboard. This seasonal update combines your favorite emoji with the best parts of fall to share with your Northern Hemisphere friends. Pumpkin spiced emoji, anyone? ?☕️
New Emoji Kitchen mashups add new stickers to Gboard.
Along with text messaging, video calling is my go-to way to keep in touch with friends and family. To bring people closer together, we’re adding new shared experiences in Google Meet. With live sharing features, you can instantly co-watch YouTube videos and play classic games (like UNO!™ Mobile, Kahoot! or Heads Up!) with up to 100 friends and family members at a time. So even if you’re far apart, you can maintain traditions like movie and game nights. This feature is rolling out to Android phones and tablets.
Watch and play together, instantly on Google Meet.
Sometimes you want to keep your attention on certain people in a large group call — like your boss, a sign language interpreter or your best friend. Now in Google Meet, you can use multi-pinning to adjust your screen and stay focused on the folks you choose.
Stay focused on select people with multi-pinning in Google Meet.
Designed in partnership with the Deaf and hard of hearing community, Sound Notifications within Live Transcribe & Notifications can detect critical household sounds like fire alarms, running water and door knocks and alert you on your phone or watch when they occur. This feature gives you a heads up on these sounds through notifications on your phone and watch, vibrations on your devices or flashing a light on your phone, which can be useful for you when you have hearing loss or are using headphones. Now, with custom sounds, you can add your own sounds, like appliances, to your alert library. Just record it and your phone or watch will alert you the next time it sounds.
Receive alerts for custom household sounds on your phone and watch.
To make TV shows and movies more accessible to people who are blind or low-vision, Audio Descriptions on Google TV narrate live visual information as it happens so you never miss that crucial cliffhanger. Now you can find a curated library of movies with audio descriptions on Google TV — just press the Google Assistant button and say, “Search audio description movies” to start exploring.
Discover and find audio described movies on Google TV.
Tiles on Wear OS let you pick and choose what essential information you need throughout your day, in just a swipe. With the new Keep tile, quickly dictate a note or checklist right from your wrist, and manage the ones made across devices, without ever having to pull out your phone or tablet.
Create new notes and check off lists with the new Keep tile for Wear OS.
Bitmoji is coming soon to your Wear OS watch face to give your mood a boost throughout the day. After you’ve designed your own personal avatar on Snapchat, Bitmoji.com or the Bitmoji mobile app and installed the Bitmoji watch face, you can send your personal Bitmoji to your watch, where it will change expressions depending on the time of day, the weather and your physical activity.
See your Bitmoji sidekick on your Wear OS watch face.
We hope these features help you better connect, share and support the people in your life. Visit android.com/updates to learn about these features and many more.
Android 13 gives businesses using Android Enterprise new ways to get more out of their devices — including an upgraded Android Management API, an easier-to-use work profile, and more ways for IT admins to manage and protect company and employee devices. Let’s take a closer look at these new business features.
Starting with Android 13, the Android Management API goes beyond just managing device policies. It can now customize employee experiences on corporate devices, like device provisioning and user settings. This also means the Android Enterprise team can roll out helpful new features and management capabilities more frequently, starting with devices running Android 13.
Work profile already helps keep company data accessible and secure, and personal profile data private and separate — all on a single device. In Android 13, work profile gives employees an even smoother experience, offering a simpler design, improved productivity and new cross-device capabilities.
Navigating between work and personal profiles is now more intuitive, all while respecting cross-profile admin policies. Employees can choose to open an app in either their work or personal profile, depending on where it’s installed. If they’d prefer to keep work-related content out of their personal apps — so a work-related training video on YouTube doesn’t affect their personal watchlist, for example — they can choose to access that content in their browser instead. Employees can also switch between work and personal photo galleries when sharing pictures with an app, granting access only to selected files rather than their entire media library.
You’ll find more productivity tools in work profile, too. Smart dictation is now available in work profile apps on Pixel devices, so Android's dictation recommendations stay separate — keeping corporate jargon dictated for work emails out of personal chats. All Android 13 devices can also now use Near-field communication (NFC) from work apps to enable use cases like digital access badges and tap-to-pay from work profile.
More productivity features are coming soon to Android 13, thanks to new integrations between Phone Hub and Android and ChromeOS. Employees will be able to securely respond to and access work information that’s on their phones — including messages, notifications and pictures — from their corporate Chromebooks. And those interactions will be protected by end-to-end encryption and company management policies.
With each new release, Android Enterprise’s security protections get even stronger with new management capabilities, user controls and platform improvements.
For example, on a new central hub, employees can manage device security and privacy settings, and view company policies applied on the device as well as device data shared with IT admins.
Android 13 also gives IT admins more control over device Wi-Fi connectivity for features like Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi tethering. It adds security logs for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and password activities in line with National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) requirements. And for faster security patches, Android 13 has added Bluetooth and ultra-wideband (UWB) to the list of more than 30 modules that can be updated remotely through Google System Updates.
New features like Lost Mode and Stay Private on Work Wi-Fi are coming soon to Android 13. When Lost Mode is activated, IT admins can lock down and locate company-owned devices, prevent unauthorized access and display company contact information on the device screen. Meanwhile, Stay Private on Work Wi-Fi will further improve employee privacy by automatically encrypting and routing network traffic for personal profiles when employees are on company Wi-Fi. Both features will be available through the Android Management API.
Ready to put Android 13 to work for your business? Sign up for our webinar on September 29 to learn more about how Android 13 is supporting today’s working world.
