Google Play Protect cannot be disabled during phone and video calls – 9to5Google
Google’s annual blog post recapping Play Store and Android protections in 2024 is now available. It highlights new safety measures, like how Google Play Protect cannot be turned off during calls.Google Play Protect now scans over 200 billion apps every day, which is up from 125 billion in 2023. In practice, real-time scanning in 2024 identified over 13 million new malicious apps from outside Google Play.The “Scan apps with Play Protect” setting cannot be turned off during traditional phone calls, or voice and video calls in “popular” third-party apps. (You can find that toggle in the Play Store > account menu > Play Protect > top-right corner settings gear.)Google temporarily removes the ability to turn off Play Protect to counter social engineering attacks: “Scammers may manipulate users into disabling Play Protect during calls to download malicious Internet-sideloaded apps.” The UI explicitly warns users: “If you’re asked to turn off app scanning, it may be a scam to try installing harmful apps on your device.”Meanwhile, Chrome for Android will remind users to re-enable Play Protect if it has been disabled.According to our research, more than 95 percent of app installations from major malware families that exploit sensitive permissions highly correlated to financial fraud came from Internet-sideloading sources like web browsers, messaging apps, or file managers. Google has also expanded an enhanced fraud protection pilot to Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam.Finally: “Play Protect now automatically revokes permissions for potentially harmful apps, limiting their access to sensitive data like storage, photos, and camera. Users can restore app permissions at any time, with a confirmation step for added security.”Other 2024 Google Play safety stats include:FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:Breaking news for Android. Get the latest on app…Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.comManage push notifications
Source: http://9to5google.com/2025/01/29/google-play-protect-calls/
