C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google appears to be planning to combine Rip-off Detection and Name Display options into the Pixel system setup course of.
- Presently, these protecting options want to be manually enabled by customers, so there’s a truthful probability many individuals don’t know these options exist on their telephones within the first place.
- This variation could thus enhance consumer adoption of those essential security measures.
Google introduced Rip-off Detection options for Pixel units by way of the Google Phone app in November 2024. This characteristic alerts the consumer in real-time about a doable rip-off taking place to them throughout a name if it detects widespread patterns related to scams. Equally, Pixel’s Name Display & Spam Safety is an absolute time-saver, permitting Google Assistant/Gemini to display your calls, reply them with AI-powered replies, and even decline spam calls mechanically.
Whereas the options are nice, customers want to know they exist and allow them manually to benefit from them. Very similar to it intends to do with the Discover Hub community, Google could probably floor Rip-off Detection, Name Display & Spam Safety options at system setup, which might get many extra folks to activate the options and begin utilizing them.
An APK teardown helps predict options which will arrive on a service sooner or later primarily based on work-in-progress code. Nevertheless, it’s doable that such predicted options could not make it to a public launch.
The Google Phone app v181.0 beta consists of strings and different code that counsel Google could begin providing Rip-off Detection, Name Display & Spam Safety options as an choice throughout Pixel system setup.
Code
Name Display & Spam Safety
Robotically screens calls from suspicious numbers & declines spam
Rip-off Detection
Get real-time alerts for potential scams when speaking to unknown callers Whereas the strings above don’t straight point out the setup course of, we will discover the widespread “joyball” codename within the string parameter. For reference, the “dobby” codename is probably going referring to the Name display and Spam Safety options, whereas the “sharpie” codename is probably going referring to the Rip-off Detection characteristic.
“Joyball” is most probably the codename for the setup initialization display, because the Pixel Setup Wizard incorporates loads of references to it.
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
We managed to activate the setup display forward of its launch to provide you with a look:
Whereas the setup display solely mentions Rip-off Detection, the second screenshot does point out Name Display. Additional, you’ll be able to see that an unhighlighted “No thanks” button is current, which signifies that the characteristic is probably going elective, and attentive customers can skip it if they need to.
Name Display & Spam Safety and Rip-off Detection are Pixel-exclusive Google Phone app options. For the reason that characteristic is Pixel-exclusive, it’s secure to presume that the setup screens can be seen on Pixel units and never all Android units. These options are separate from the Google Phone app’s Caller ID & Spam characteristic, which is out there to all Android customers if they’ve the app put in as their default dialer.