Google Play Protect rolling out to Android devices for better security
ANDROID SECURITY
Google on Wednesday began rolling out Play Protect, a new feature part of Google Play designed to look for apps that may cause harm to your Android device and give you more information about your device's security.
Play Protect automatically scans your Android device to keep your device, data, and apps safe. It replaces Google's "Verify Apps" feature to become more prominent to the user and provide detailed information about security scans.
Google uses machine learning to scan through 50 billion apps daily to identify any suspicious or malicious malware. Google has safe-checks to prevent malware from entering the Play Store, however sometimes it misses them until notified by third-party malware researchers. Play Protect also scans apps not downloaded from the Play Store.
Further, Google is making Find My Device part of Google Play Protect and giving the lost phone feature a much needed redesign, including a new icon, a friendlier interface, a new battery and Wi-Fi status indicator, and details about the last known location of the device. Find My Device is akin to Apple's "Find My iPhone."
Read more: The state of mobile device security: Android vs. iOS
Play Protect is slowly rolling out to users who are running Play Services 11 or above. If you aren't seeing Play Protect yet, it should be hitting your Android device in the coming days.