Michael Brown

So there has been a lot of online chatter about Google’s newly released app called Android System SafetyCore that’s being downloaded on a lot Android devices. Mostly Android 9+ devices. And there’s been a lot of misinformation about it so I figured I’d provide more correct information on the web about it. In short, it’s like having a bouncer for your phone. You can read the entire blog post from Google about it on their Security Blog, but I’ll try to explain in less detail. In short, Google lists the following new protections:

1. Enhances detection protects you from package delivery and job scams.
2. Intelligent warnings alert you about potentially dangerous links.
3. Controls to turn off messages from unknown international senders.
4. Sensitive Content Warnings give you control over seeing and sending images that may contain nudity.
5. More confirmation about who you’re messaging.

So this bouncer uses AI to spot shady stuff like spam, scams, malware, and even those NSFW pics (yikes!) in your messages and apps. The best part? It does all this without snitching to Google or anyone else. Think of it like a super-smart security guard who can spot trouble without calling the cops. By not snitching to Google or anyone else or calling the cops, it’s not sending your information to anyone. ANYONE.

Now, some people have been mistakenly thinking, “Isn’t this like that client-side scanning thing Apple tried to pull?” Nah, not even close. That was all about scanning your pics and reporting potentially illegal stuff, which was a major privacy no-no.

Android’s SafetyCore is different. It keeps everything on your phone and doesn’t share anything with anyone. It’s more like Apple’s Communication Safety feature in iMessage, which warns kids about sensitive content but doesn’t share anything with Apple.

Unfortunately, like I said, there’s been some misinformation floating around about SafetyCore, with some folks calling it “spyware.” But that’s simply not true. As the privacy-focused folks at GrapheneOS put it:

The app doesn’t provide client-side scanning used to report things to Google or anyone else. It provides on-device machine learning models usable by applications to classify content as being spam, scams, malware, etc. This allows apps to check content locally without sharing it with a service and mark it with warnings for users.

The GrapheneOS team are experts in this field, and they clearly state that SafetyCore doesn’t share your data. So, you can rest assured that your privacy is protected.

The GrapheneOS team does wish Google would make the whole thing open source, which would increase transparency and trust. I agree with this too, but here’s the thing: apps have been able to do this AI security stuff for a while now, but they usually send your data to their servers. SafetyCore keeps everything local, which is a big win for privacy.

Okay, so circling back to that “not snitching to the cops” part: SafetyCore isn’t about reporting illegal stuff to the authorities. It’s simply about giving your phone the ability to spot potentially harmful stuff and give you a heads up. Remember that and take that how you will.

So, there you have it! The TL;DR is Google’s Android System SafetyCore seems like a pretty sweet deal for boosting your phone’s security and privacy. Don’t let the misinformation scare you away from a potentially useful tool. It’ll be interesting to see how it evolves and how other apps start using it.