What is Google Play Protect and How to Enable or Disable it?

Android phones offer lots of features and are available in different price range. So, these phones are now being used by over billion of users. With popularity, Android has become the primary target of hackers and we see a new malware attack almost every month. Google tried a lot but Android platform’s security is still one of the primary concern. To enhance the security of Android phones, now Google has rolled out a new feature ‘Google Play Protect’. It was originally announced back in May and aims to protect users from malicious apps. Now, this feature is available to all Android users. So, I decided to write about it. Here, you will find everything you need to know about Google Protect.

What is Google Play Protect?

Google Play Protect is an advanced version of Google’s “Verify Apps”. If Google Play Protect is enabled, it will offer real-time malware scanner that will scan your installed apps and inform if there is anything suspicious. Google announced Google Play Protect back in May this year at Google I/O developer conference, but start rolling out this week. It is now available for a device running Google Play Services 11 or later.

Google Play Protect is designed to protect Android phones from potentially dangerous apps. If you install an app from other sources, it will notify you if the app has something suspicious. You can always check the status of your install apps and see when the last scan was performed. In this article, I will explain how to see what apps Google Play Protect scanned and how to use this feature on your phone to keep it safe.

It is an always-on service on devices that claim to scan 50 billion apps each day across a billion Android devices to make sure they are safe. This service not just scans apps installed on devices but it also scans apps before it appears on Play Store.

Google uses machine learning algorithms that automatically compares app behaviors with those acting abnormally.

How to enable or disable Google Play Protect

Google Play Protect is already available on most of the Android devices with Google Play Services 11 or higher. It will be turned on by default. So, your device is already protected if it is available on your phone. So, app apps on your phone will be frequently scanned for malware. If you do not want to disable it, you can always do the same by the following path. Settings -> Google -> Security -> Google Play Protect. On some devices, I found this on the following path. Settings -> Google -> Security -> Verify Apps. Even if Verify Apps is the older version of Play Protect, tapping on it shows the same Google Play Protect section.

The first option “Scan device for security threats” ensures real-time app scan. If you do not want this, you can disable the option. The second option “Improve harmful app detection” should be enabled if you want it to scan the apps installed via third party sources.

By default, Google has enabled this option and I recommend you all to keep it enabled. It will help you avoid malware affecting your phone. Soon Google will also start showing “Verified by Google Play Protect” badge for additional reassurance on app listings page.

If you have anything to ask, you can always leave a comment.