Google I/O 2022: Google Docs for anti-phishing, anti-malware; Virtual card for payment announced

On Wednesday, Google announced improvements to its existing products and services at Google I/O 2022, designed to improve user safety and privacy. At its annual developer conference, the company revealed that it is expanding its anti-phishing protection across Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Google will also introduce virtual cards on Chrome and Android later this year, protecting users’ payment information when making online purchases. In the coming months, the company will also allow users to request deletion of personal information and control advertising across Google products.

Users on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides coming soon protected with similar anti-phishing and malware protections for Gmail users, according to the company. This is expected to prevent threats from shared documents where phishing links can be used to compromise user accounts. Meanwhile, New Account Safe Status indicator with a yellow warning icon that will be displayed on the user’s profile picture to notify the user of the necessary actions to secure their account.

Later this year, Google will introduce a new virtual card feature to users in the US, allowing them to replace their card number with a distinct virtual number during online purchases. According to Google, Visa, American Express and all Capital One cards will get virtual card support in the summer, while Mastercard will be supported later this year. Virtual Card will be supported on Android and Chrome, and users can turn the feature on and off or check recent transactions at Google Payments website.

Later this year, Google will also introduce new privacy controls for ads, allowing users to control which brands they see more or less of, and turn personalization on or off. . Users will be able to use Google’s My Ad Center to control what ads they see on products like YouTube, Search, and their Discover feed – in addition to blocking and reporting ads – according to Google.

In April, Google announced that they are extending their deletion policies regarding personal information in search results to all users. In the coming months, the company says it will add the ability to request removal of phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses through the Google app.

In Google I/O 2022, the company also details its efforts to improve cybersecurity on the Internet. With the growing focus on cybersecurity amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Google announced that it has extended support for Project Shield to protect more than 200 Ukrainian government organizations, news outlets, websites and other services. Meanwhile, the company said it will continue to work on technologies like Link learningDifferential privacy and Computer protected to protect user data through data anonymization and access restriction using end-to-end encryption, according to the company.