If you use a Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel phone, you will now be able to benefit from a new “Android Safe Browsing” feature within your applications. This new tool represents another Android security advancement in Google's arsenal against increasingly devious malware and phishing scams.
As explained by Android expert Mishaal Rahman on his post Discovering the feature, “Android Safe Browsing alerts you to security threats, such as harmful links and web pages, when you browse supported apps. For example, you may receive an alert if you tap a link in your news app that would take you to a known phishing site.” Essentially, its function is to add a layer of protection when you click on a web link in an application.
If I had to compare it to anything, it would be like the warnings you get in the Chrome browser when you're about to access a questionable link. Android Safe Browsing works the same way by leveraging Google's vast database of known threats. At the moment, no apps appear for me under Supported Apps, which suggests that, based on Mishaal's observations, this requires apps to use the “SafetyNet” Safe Browsing API, which allows apps to determine if a URL has been marked as a known threat by Google. .
Image source: Telephone Arena
So far, this new feature has been spotted by going to Settings > Security & Privacy > More Security & Privacy on Pixel devices and Settings > Security & Privacy on Samsung Galaxy devices. However, the rollout appears to be gradual and controlled by Google's servers, which would explain why not everyone has it yet.
While this seems like a feature that all Android phones should get, it's unclear at the moment whether this will be a Pixel and Galaxy exclusive. Right now, it looks like most phones using Google Play Services should eventually get this update, not just specific devices. So we hope that exclusivity will not be a problem.
