Android helps keep you protected, even when you aren’t using your phone. Our powerful tech helps defeat bad apps, malware, phishing and spam. We always try to keep one step ahead of threats, delivering timely recommendations to help you make the best decisions for your privacy.
Google Play Protect analyzes potentially harmful apps before you download them, so you can worry less whether they’ll hurt your phone or steal your sensitive data. Android regularly scans your apps for malware, prompting you to uninstall any bad apps. And machine learning helps our mobile malware detection teach itself about new threats every day, prioritizing your on-device security.
When you enter a password into an app on your phone using Autofill with Google, we will check it against a list of known compromised passwords. If there's a match, we'll alert you so you can take action.
Only pick up the calls that matter. Built-in spam protection in Phone by Google tells you if a call is bad, so that spammers can't reach you. It also works in Messages to prevent spam from entering your inbox. To protect your privacy, spam detection doesn’t send sensitive information to the cloud—it happens entirely on your device.
Google Safe Browsing lets you explore the web with confidence, defending you from dangerous websites and malicious files. We warn you if you try to navigate to a bad website or file, getting you to safety so you don't encounter malware or a phishing scam. Because you shouldn’t be tricked into handing over your private data.
Android security enables privacy. We protect your data by wrapping it in encryption and setting boundaries around what apps can do in the background. Browsing privately is simple with Incognito mode in Chrome and Maps. We also give you tools that help you control who can see what data and when.
Learn about private browsing
With Android, you choose when to share certain sensitive data with apps you download. Privacy notifications let you decide if you want to allow access to your microphone, camera or location—just once, all the time or never.
Learn how to update app permissions
A phone displaying the new Android 12 privacy dashboard.
A phone displaying the new Android 12 privacy dashboard.
Know which apps have accessed your camera, microphone and location during the past 24 hours. Your Privacy Dashboard does all the detective work. You decide which apps get to keep their access.
A phone displaying the Android 12 camera. Bubbles in the foreground read “Camera access: Available” and “Mic access: Blocked.”
A phone displaying the Android 12 camera. Bubbles in the foreground read “Camera access: Available” and “Mic access: Blocked.”
Android lets you know when your camera and microphone are in use with green icons in the top right corner. A tap into Quick Settings disables camera and mic access system-wide, so you can know when your phone is cut off from visual and audio inputs.
A phone displaying the new Android 12 Approximate Location Permissions Screen. The screen reads: “Allow [App] to access this device’s location?” with “Approximate” location selected.
A phone displaying the new Android 12 Approximate Location Permissions Screen. The screen reads: “Allow [App] to access this device’s location?” with “Approximate” location selected.
Not every app needs to know your exact location. Sometimes a general area is enough. On Android 12, choose which apps get an approximation and which apps get to know precisely where you're at.
If you haven’t opened an app in a few months, Android can automatically turn its permissions off. So that it won’t have ongoing access to your sensitive data. But don’t worry, you can turn permissions back on any time. It’s like housekeeping for your phone. That we do for you.
Keeping you safe is at the heart of Android. Device encryption helps keep your data secure when your phone is locked so it looks scrambled to anyone trying to steal your information. When you back up to the cloud, everything is encrypted end-to-end, so only you can access that data. We guard each app at the operating system level, so apps can’t snoop on each other’s data. And we’ll even notify you if we think someone tampered with your operating system. These features are always on, working in the background to make sure you’re protected automatically, all the time.
We’re creating unique ways to keep you safer. Discover how your Android phone gets you help faster during emergencies.
Go to the Help Center