Google’s mission to tighten Android security continues, and a new leak suggests Chrome is being seconded to help. When released, this will help stop the scourge of malware that continues to plague Android users, maintaining the gap to iPhone.
As spotted by MSPowerUser, “Google is testing an APK malware check in Chrome Canary for Android, warning users about harmful downloads.” This essentially does the job usually left to Play Protect, and while “the feature is in telemetry-only mode for some users but will expand to all with Safe Browsing enabled.”
We have already seen Chrome and Play Protect begin working more closely to defend Android with download warnings reduced when Play protect is running, but this is the first time we’ve seen Play Protect hand over some of its usual responsibilities.
The new flag in Canary reads “check the APK downloads on Android for malware. The Malicious APK downloads check,” and when enabled, “Chrome will scan the APK files you download on your Android device to see if they contain any known malware. If something suspicious is found, Chrome will warn you before you install the app.”
As Android Authority puts it, “Chrome for Android could soon have your back when you download shady apps.” It’s a good move, albeit it’s unclear whether this identifies malware that otherwise would be missed out just makes the processing balance more efficient, essentially stopping the install at source.
Per Android Authority, “this would be a welcome layer of protection for Android phones as Play Protect typically scans these files before you install them. Play Protect also periodically scans your installed apps to make sure they’re all safe. So being able to scan APK files as they’re downloaded would be very convenient.”
In my view while this is positive, it’s not the main show. The focus now should be the live, on-device threat protection that has been introduced with Android 15 and which promises to flag suspicious behavior and even permission abuse, without relying on centrally collated signals to warn that an install might be dangerous.
Suffice to say, if Chrome warns you a download might be dangerous, do not take the risk. All told, this is just the latest initiative from Google as Android narrows that gap to iPhone. It’s clear that with Android 15’s security advances and now Android 16 promising more of the same, that gap has never been smaller.