Google Messages is embarking on a significant enhancement with the introduction of smart alerts designed to manage sensitive images. This innovative feature aims to automatically blur explicit images before they even reach the recipient’s view, ensuring a more secure messaging experience.
What you need to know
- Google Messages is rolling out smart alerts to automatically blur explicit images before you even see them.
- The feature is opt-in—you’ll need to turn it on yourself. Once active, it flags potential nudes before they load and offers options for action.
- You can choose to view the image, block the sender, or check out why it was flagged.
- Teens have it turned on by default, but adults need to opt in.
This privacy-centric feature has been in development for some time, with Google first teasing it last year and aiming for a launch in February. Now, it is gradually appearing in the beta version of Google Messages, albeit for a limited user base, as reported by 9to5Google.
‘You sure about that?’ warnings
Upon receiving a warning about a potentially explicit image, users are presented with three options: they can proceed to view the image, block the sender, or investigate the reason for the flag. Should they choose to view the image, an additional option to blur it again later is available, providing an extra layer of discretion, especially if someone else briefly accesses their device.
Moreover, if users intend to send a sensitive image, the app will issue a prompt to caution them about the content they are about to share.
Your device, your privacy
A notable aspect of this feature is that all processing occurs directly on the user’s device. Utilizing Android’s SafetyCore, the app conducts all necessary scanning locally, ensuring that no data is transmitted to Google’s servers. This approach not only safeguards user privacy but also maintains the integrity of RCS’s end-to-end encryption, keeping messages secure.
It is important to note that this feature currently applies only to still images; videos are not included in this functionality. Activation occurs solely when a compatible app, such as Messages, initiates the request.
