Google says Chrome blocked seven billion malicious Android notifications
every day in its bid to cut down on scams

Date:
Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:05:00 +0000

Description:
A "Swiss cheese" approach to defense seems to be working, as the number of unwanted notifications dwindles.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Google cut seven billion daily Android Chrome notifications using layered defenses Chrome now limits abusive sites, revokes permissions, and blocks highvolume spam Android improvements simplify managing alerts and reduce scam and malware exposure Google says it has cut the number of notifications Chrome users get on their Android devices by seven billion a day.

In a new report , the company outlined how it has built a multi-layered defense system to shield its users from unwanted notifications, protecting them from spam and malware, and helping their devices battery last longer. Most importantly, Google says the achievement significantly improved the overall user experience on Android. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Notification bombardment For the longest time, individual
websites were allowed to send push notifications directly to their users phones, even when they were not actively browsing them.

When a user visits a certain website, they get prompted to show
notifications, and if they tap allow, the website starts sending the alerts. Sometimes, users do it without fully realizing what theyre agreeing to. You may like How scammers use "scraped New York Times content" to trick security scanners New 'scareware' attack hits 2.8 million victims, pretending to lock them out of your browser Android users beware this huge fraud scam campaign hit millions of victims around the world

Once granted, the notifications (sent through Chrome) get shown next to other alerts (such as the ones coming from WhatsApp , Gmail, or other apps).

Unlike other notifications - which usually alert users to unread messages, calendar events, or similar - these mostly promote new content, deals, or other updates. They can also alert users of breaking news, which is arguably the most useful type among the ones mentioned here. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Legitimate websites use the feature responsibly and generally dont flood
their users with unwanted pings. However, some sites abuse the privilege, bombarding users with unwanted advertising, misleading alerts, clickbait articles, and other formats, just to get them to open the page (where theyre often served ads). More worryingly, malicious or compromised websites can use notifications to push scam messages, fake virus warnings, phishing links or other potentially dangerous content.

Because these alerts are served through Chrome and resemble ordinary system notifications, users may not immediately realize the risk.

But because they are served through Chrome, Google can do something about it, and the company has now pulled back the curtain on the toolkit that made
these improvements possible. What to read next Hackers could use poisoned WhatsApp and Slack notifications to take over your Google Gemini and make it work on their behalf Experts warn hackers are hiding malware inside Google's own ad systems here's what we know Digital spring cleaning is now a
frontline defense in the scam economy (Image credit: Shutterstock.com) Swiss cheese Described as a swiss cheese model, Google says it created overlapping protections that cover the entire notification lifecycle. Chrome now automatically revokes notification permissions for sites users havent engaged with in a little while.

So, if a site keeps flooding the visitor with notifications that theyre not responding to, Chrome will eventually shut them off. Same goes for sites that have repeatedly received suspicious notification warnings. Google did not say how many is considered repeatedly and in what timeframe.

The second layer is analyzing signals such as service worker activity. By looking for coordinated behaviors, Google claims it can now pinpoint networks that serve malicious content, and block them.

On the Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) server side, the company introduced message rate limits that disallow high-volume notification abuse. Google now evaluates sites based on factors such as message volume relative to time
spent on site, the frequency of permission prompts, and general engagement levels.

In other words, if a user spends 10 minutes on a website but then receives 50 notifications, it will raise quite a few red flags. Same goes for users that dont really interact with the website a lot. Disruptive domains are now limited to 1,000 messages per minute and will receive HTTP 429 responses if they exceed this threshold, Google explained.

Finally, the company updated how notifications are handled on Android phones. Users can update their preferences directly from the notification bar, simplifying the process for users who cant be bothered to dig deep into
system settings.

These integrated efforts effectively shield users from sophisticated scams that leverage notifications to distribute malware, harvest personal information, or solicit fraudulent payments, Google said.

Beyond security enhancements, this strategy has substantially decreased unnecessary background activity, reduced user device battery consumption, and transformed the notification lifecycle so users receive only the content they find truly valuable. The best antivirus for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best antivirus 1. Best overall: Bitdefender Total Security 2. Best for families: Norton 360 with LifeLock 3. Best for mobile: McAfee Mobile Security Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/google-says-chrome-blocked-seven-billio n-malicious-android-notifications-every-day-in-its-bid-to-cut-down-on-scams


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