With the highly anticipated and much heralded iOS 26.1 update about to bring a game-changing new security feature to iPhones, while headlines abound regarding Android security warnings concerning humanized password stealers and Samsung Galaxy S25 hacks, you may well be wondering where the notion that Android is safer than iOS comes from. The answer is Google, well sort of. A new blog from Google’s Android and Messages teams has revealed the results of newly published independent research from Counterpoint Research, detailing how Android is leading the way when it comes to protections against phishing, malware and theft. Here’s what you need to know.
iPhone Users 150% More Likely To Say Their Device Not Effective In Stopping Mobile Fraud Than Pixel Ones
Pulling the headline statistics out of the Google posting, the YouGov research found that Android users were 20% more likely than iOS users to say the scam protection provided by their smartphone was either very or extremely effective. For Pixel users, the stat was even more profound: when it came to saying their device was not effective at all in stopping mobile fraud, iPhone users were 150% more likely to come to this conclusion. YouGov also found that more than half as many, 58%, of Android users said they had not had any scam texts in the previous week, and 65% more iPhone users reported being on the receiving end of three or more such scam texts.
The Counterpoint Research was, from my security geek perspective, more interesting. When it came to, specifically, AI-powered protections against mobile threats, security researchers compared the latest smartphones from four vendors, three Android and one iOS, namely: Pixel, Samsung, Motorola, and iPhone. Across categories including scam, phishing, web, app malware and physical theft protections, it was determined that Android offered safeguards for all nine sub-categories (see screenshot) whereas the iPhone hit the mark in just two.
Which Is Safer, Android Or iPhone? It’s Complicated
“Android’s scam defenses protect users around the world from over 10 billion suspected malicious calls and messages every month,” Lyubov Farafonova, a product manager with Phone by Google, Alberto Pastor Nieto, a senior product manager with Google Messages, RCS Spam and Abuse, and Vijay Pareek, a manager for Android Messaging & Chrome Extensions Security, said, adding that the research by independent security was commissioned to reveal how well Android and iOS protect you from mobile threats.
I have, of course, approached Apple for a statement. But as a user of both Android and iOS devices, my daily driver is a brand new iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I can’t say that I’ve been troubled by scams and the like on either phone. As a Kaspersky report into the relative merits of each mobile operating system concluded, “There is no clear answer to the question of ‘which is safer iOS or Android?’ With technology always having some sort of weaknesses, there will always be the chance that you’ll be a target. So, it’s up to you to ensure you’re using safe practices and always re-evaluating the companies you trust your data with.”
