Google announced on June 2 that its Phone by Google app is rolling out a new fake call detection feature globally this month, starting with Pixel devices on Android 12 and above, to counter AI deepfake impersonation scams. As scammers have adapted to the growing reluctance to answer unknown-number calls by spoofing trusted contact names and cloning voices with AI tools to impersonate family members, employers, or authority figures, the feature introduces what Google describes as a silent “digital handshake” between devices. When a contact calls and both parties use Phone by Google, the caller’s device sends a silent confirmation signal; if that signal is absent — as it would be in a spoofed call — the recipient’s device pings the actual contact’s device to verify whether they are genuinely calling. If the real device responds that it is not placing a call, a warning appears on screen advising the user to hang up immediately. The feature is on by default and runs automatically in the background.
Google built the detection system on top of RCS, making the verification protocol available for other apps and companies to adopt. The announcement came alongside several other Android updates: Google Photos is adding a “wardrobe” feature that catalogs clothing from a user’s photo library into virtual try-on snapshots, rolling out next week in the U.S., India, and Brazil for Android 10+; Google Play Books is adding a “Catch me up” story-recap feature with the ability to highlight passages and ask questions, available today for select English titles; and Circle to Search has been updated to identify all items in an outfit simultaneously rather than piece by piece, now available on all Android 14+ devices.