New Delhi, India — Technology giant Google on Thursday announced a wide-ranging safety initiative for India, unveiling new on-device anti-scam protections and expanded AI safety tools aimed at children, teenagers, and older adults.
The company introduced real-time Scam Detection on Pixel phones, powered by Gemini Nano. The feature analyzes calls from unknown numbers locally on the device and alerts users to potential scams without recording audio, storing transcripts, or sending data to Google. The tool, which emits a notification beep to all call participants, remains off by default and can be disabled at any time.
Google also expanded access to its SynthID technology by making the text-watermarking tool available as an open-source component of its Responsible GenAI Toolkit. SynthID helps partners identify AI-generated images and audio, enhancing transparency and misuse detection across platforms.
As part of its broader safety roadmap, Google announced a $200,000 grant to the CyberPeace Foundation to support capacity building and deploy AI-enabled cybersecurity tools to combat fraud, strengthen digital learning environments for young users, and advance responsible AI governance aligned with the IndiaAI Mission.
In addition, the company is providing $1 million to five leading think tanks and universities across the Asia-Pacific region to conduct research and advance dialogue on the opportunities and risks of AI.
“In India, where the digital economy is booming, we are building AI systems that are designed to keep user trust intact as India transitions to AI,” said Evan Kotsovinos, Vice President of Privacy, Safety and Security at Google.
“We are taking a 360-degree approach to safety, combining on-product and on-Cloud protections, digital literacy to empower users with knowledge and awareness,” said Preeti Lobana, Country Manager, Google India. (Source: IANS)
