Google is going to update its Google Messages app by bringing a new feature called Verified SMS, which will help users to verify the real identity of the businesses texting them.
The new feature is rolling out in India and some other selected global markets. It is planned to reveal the authenticity of companies on the Messages app by testing them on a per-message basis.
This will help users know if they can trust the messages they received from a specific business or to ignore them by considering as spam. Google is separately rolling out the spam protection feature in the US, which the company started in December last year.
With the help of Verified SMS feature, Google is intending to make the Messages app to be a better platform for receiving text messages.
You can see the name of the business and its logo directly on the message thread along with a verification badge.
The company on its support page writes that “When Verified SMS is on, and you receive a message from a business registered with Google, Google translates the message you receive into an unreadable authenticity code on your device. Then, Google compares this code with unreadable authenticity codes sent to Google by the business.“
Also, the support page emphasizes the point that Google uses your device’s phone number to create authenticity codes, although it does not specifically see the messages you are going to receive for the verification purpose.
Verification codes and Google Pay India from Google will be the first contacts that will be registered in Verified SMS. Other Brands like Banco Bradesco,1-800-Flowers, Kayak, SoFi, and Payback are also some of the few entities to be authenticated for the new feature.
Further, Google says that daily, a number of businesses are signing up to use Verified SMS.
Apart from India, Google is rolling out Verified SMS feature on Google Messages in 8 countries. They are Mexico, the US, Brazil, France, the UK, the Philippines, Canada, and Spain.
Roma Slyusarchuk, a software engineer in Google Messages, says in a blog post, “Verified SMS is just one of our attempts to improve your messages with businesses. We are also going to continue working on improving the chats that you have on Messages with Rich Business Messaging (RBM).“
Along with the Verified SMS feature, Google is also launching the spam protection feature in the US. The feature was found initially in 2018 to warn its users about the suspected spam and risky web links available in the text messages. The new feature enables its users with an option to report spam text messages.
Google insists that the spam protection feature controls “your message data while keeping your messages private.” It means that the company does not read the content you receive to mark spam messages out.
A support page is also available that provides detailed information regarding the process.
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