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New Android features to help you stay connected and safe

Person using Find My Device on an Android phone to view their friends’ live locations and to share their live location for an hour with their friends.

Today, we’re sharing four new Android features that are designed to keep you connected and make life easier. You can receive alerts for suspicious conversations in Messages, easily find friends and family with live location sharing and play more games while parked. Here’s what’s new.

1. Report and block scams with real-time alerts on suspicious texts

Protect yourself from fraud with AI-powered Scam Detection. Google Messages now uses AI to flag conversational text patterns commonly associated with scams, so you can identify messages that seem harmless, but turn dangerous over time. If Google Messages suspects a scam, you’ll receive a real-time warning so you can easily block and report the conversation. This feature can help protect you before you lose money or sensitive information. Scam Detection happens on your device, so your conversations remain private. Learn more about Scam Detection on the Google Online Security blog.

Receive real-time warnings on suspicious texts.

2. Easily find friends and family with live location sharing

Share your location with trusted contacts in Find My Device for safety and peace of mind. In the same app you use to find misplaced devices, you can coordinate a meetup with a friend or make sure a family member got home safe. Live location sharing shows you where your friends are in a map view, no matter what phone or tablet you or your friends use. Location data is safely stored and you decide who sees your location and for how long — with regular reminders about the people you’re sharing with.

Find friends and family in a map view.

3. Level up while parked with more gaming apps

Park, play and stay entertained with more gaming apps available on Android Auto. Whether you're looking for a quick puzzle or an adrenaline-pumping race, you can now use your car’s screen while you’re parked to play games like Farm Heroes Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Angry Birds 2 and Beach Buggy Racing. Simply download a game to your mobile device to access it in Android Auto while you’re waiting in the car, and level up in your downtime.

Stay entertained while parked with more gaming apps on Android Auto.

4. Know the right time to buy and find better deals

Save time and shop smarter online with shopping insights and helpful tools in Chrome on Android. Whether you want to check a product’s price history, track price drops or compare prices across the web, you can feel confident you’re buying at the right time to get a better price. Look for the “Price is low” notification in your Chrome address bar to get started.

Feel confident you're buying at the right time to get a better price.

Keep exploring the latest Android updates at android.com/updates. And if you’re a Pixel user, check out these new Pixel features that are also available to you.

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