Android smartphones and tablets already have several features that ensure digital safety. Google also offers monthly security updates to safeguard your device from new exploits and vulnerabilities. Android’s Play Protect functionality regularly checks your applications for harmful behavior. Now, Google is testing a built-in malware scanner for the APKs you sideload within the Chrome app on Android devices.
Google Chrome’s upcoming feature to scan APKs will add another layer of security
According to a report by MSPowerUser, Google Chrome for Android could soon be able to scan APKs for malware. The company is testing this functionality as a flag in the Chrome Canary build for Android devices. It is part of the app’s experimental features. The flag’s description reads “Check the APK downloads on Android for malware”. In other words, it will scan your newly downloaded APK files to ensure that they are free of malware.
Notably, the Chrome app’s new feature for Android would be a welcome layer of additional protection for smartphones and tablets. As of now, Google’s Play Protect service scans these files before you install them. Furthermore, Play Protect also periodically scans your installed applications to make sure they’re all safe. So, Chrome’s feature to scan APK files as you download them would be very helpful in safeguarding your device from malware and other security threats.
Chrome’s upcoming feature isn’t live yet for all
According to the source, users can set this feature to Default, Enabled, Enabled Telemetry only, or Disabled. If it finds malware or other suspicious elements with an APK file, it will warn you about it with a prompt. All users with Safe Browsing enabled in Chrome will have the new APK download check feature enabled by default. Furthermore, the users would be able to toggle it from Chrome’s Safety check or Privacy and security settings.
Google Chrome’s new feature isn’t yet functional and there’s no word when Google is planning to launch it. However, its presence in the Canary build indicates that Google is actively developing and testing it.
