Android 16 will fight scammers by blocking certain features during phone calls (Update: Demo)
To fight scams, Android 16 can block you from sideloading apps or allowing accessibility access while you’re on a call.
- Google is working on a new security feature for Android that blocks you from changing certain sensitive settings during phone calls.
- These sensitive settings include allowing apps to install other apps (i.e. sideloading) and allowing accessibility access.
- Scammers are known to request these kinds of changes during phone calls, which is why Android is going to block them.
Update, February 14, 2025 (04:41 PM ET): After a little more investigation, we’ve discovered that Google’s new in-call anti-scammer protections are already live in Android 16 Beta 2. You can see them in action for yourself in this video demonstration we’ve put together:
Original article, February 14, 2025 (05:00 AM ET): There’s a wide variety of phone scams that you need to be aware of, and with the advent of AI speech tools, these scams will only become more convincing. Scammers will employ all sorts of psychological tricks to get you to send them money or give them access to your online accounts, and unfortunately, many people fall victim to these scams every day. To combat these scammers, Google is working on a new security feature for Android 16 that blocks you from changing certain sensitive settings during phone calls. This will hopefully make it harder for scammers to succeed and make people think twice before installing or enabling malicious software.
