It's not rolling out for everyone just yet, but Android Messages just got a new feature that can save users the headache of having to deal with spam texts.
Nobody likes spam texts, of course, so the new feature on Google's default messaging app is a godsend for many.
Android Police was the first to report about the feature. The update seems to be on a limited rollout still since it's not live on every compatible device yet. Those who have received it report seeing a notification upon launching the app that announced the new setting. It reads, "To help protect against spam some data about your messages, but not any content, is sent to Google."
Android Messages Gets Spam Protection
Spam Protection is an opt-in feature, so users wary about sending data to Google can manually turn it off in the Settings menu. When it's enabled, however, Google claims it doesn't actually collect the content of messages or phone numbers. In that regard, this is different to spam reports manually sent to Google, which include the full message sent by the spammer. In some cases, a copy of the message may even be sent to the user's carrier.
The company has yet to offer more information about the feature, such as how it works, when it's going to release it, and what kind of data Spam Protection collects.
How Does It Work?
Google's support page doesn't reveal the inner operations of Spam Protection, but presumably, the company uses software to statistically look at similarities between spam messages to accurately detect them. There might even be machine learning sprinkled in somewhere, who knows? It'll take real-world tests to determine whether the feature works well, however, so hopefully the feature rolls out sooner rather than later to a lot more users.
Again, the new Spam Protection feature on Android Messages isn't mandatory. Those who are concerned about providing data to Google willy-nilly can turn it off if they wish. It's probably best to have it turned off at the moment, at least until Google properly explains how the feature works and what kind of data is involved in the process. Make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more about Spam Protection.
Have you received Spam Protection on your Android Messages app? Does it work as described? As always, if you have anything to share, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!
