Google app gets critical alert feature – Here is how it works

New Delhi: Technology giant Google has said that it will soon roll out a new safety feature that will automatically issue an alert within the Google app. Users will not be required to check email or phones alerts for a suspected hack or a compromise.

The new alerts are resistant to spoofing, so the users can always be sure they're coming from Google.

"Soon we’ll be introducing a redesigned critical alert and a new way of delivering it. When we detect a serious Google Account security issue, we’ll automatically display an alert within the Google app you’re using and help you address it—no need to check email or your phone’s alerts. The new alerts are resistant to spoofing, so you can always be sure they're coming from us. We’ll begin a limited roll out in the coming weeks and plan to expand more broadly early next year," Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, Vice President of Product, Privacy at Google wrote in a Google blog.

Google said, over the years, it developed new ways to notify people about these issues and helped significantly improve their security. 

"In 2015 for example, we started using Android alerts to notify people about critical issues with their Google Accounts, like a suspected hack. Following this change, we saw a 20-fold increase in the number of people that engaged with these new notifications within an hour of receiving them, compared to email," Roy-Chowdhury wrote.

Currently, Google uses Android alerts to notify people about critical issues with their Google Accounts, like a suspected hack.

"Protecting your online safety requires constant vigilance and innovation. It starts with building the world’s most advanced security infrastructure and pairing it with responsible data practices and privacy tools that put you in control. We’ll continue to advocate for sensible data regulations around the world, including strong, comprehensive federal privacy legislation in the U.S., and make privacy and security advances that keep you safer online," he added.