Chrome for Android receives optimized Safe Browsing features

Google’s Chrome for Android has been receiving a few updates in the closing quarter of the year and the browser is now boasting tougher security features as well. Coming (almost) straight from the company’s desktop software, Chrome Safe Browsing is now built into version 46 of Chrome for Android.

The updated security features are designed to offer additional protection against malware, unwanted software and social engineering websites. If you accidentally stumble onto a suspicious page, Chrome will now offer up a big red warning page and to let you have another think about the site. The feature has also been specifically designed so that it won’t eat up or slow down your data connection, nor will it have a major impact on your phone’s battery life. Interestingly, Google says that the new Safe Browsing client on Android is part of Google Play Services 8.1 and that the company’s browser is just the first app to make use of it.

“Network bandwidth and battery are the scarcest resources on a mobile device, so we had to carefully rethink how to best protect mobile users. Some social engineering attacks only happen in certain parts of the world, so we only send information that protects devices in the geographic regions they’re in.”

Safe Browsing is now enabled as the default setting, so you can rest easy knowing that your browser now has some extra protection. To double check that it’s enabled, take a look in Settings -> Privacy. If you’re not using Chrome as your default browser, you can download it for free from Google Play at the button below.