Google announced on Monday the extension of Safe Browsing for its Chrome for Android app as part of the app's latest update.
With the goal of providing a line of defense against malware and unwanted software, Google Safe Browsing has previously been a feature for the desktop version of Chrome.
Now, Android users will be little more safe when searching the Web from their mobile devices. Just like the desktop version, the Safe Browsing client will warn Android users with a red warning screen when a site is unsafe to visit.
The Safe Browsing client on Android is part of Google Play Services version 8.1, with Chrome version 46 being the first to get it. The safety feature is now available by default, but users can double-check if it's enabled by going to Settings > Privacy menu in the Chrome app.
Google revealed that the Android platform has previously been protected against harmful apps; however, the Safety Browsing client will now provide phishing protection when browsing sites online.
In order to preserve network bandwidth and battery life, the company worked with its compression team to use as little data as possible to report malicious websites. Google will only send information about the riskiest sites first.
"We hunt badness on the Internet so that you don't discover it the hard way, and our protection should never be an undue burden on your networking costs or your device's battery," Google writes in a blog post. "As more of the world relies on the mobile Web, we want to make sure you're as safe as can be, as efficiently as possible."
The Safe Browsing feature is now available for Chrome version 46.
Source: Google
