Safe Browsing, one of the distinctive features of Google's Chrome desktop browser, has just been made available for its Android version. The move was revealed Monday, along with information that the mode is based on Google Play Service's 8.1 update and the release of Android's Chrome v46.
The Safe Browsing mode protects Android devices from harmful websites and would alert users when the browser comes across a malicious location such as those found to host malware and phishing scams. It appears to be turned on by default. Users who want to check the feature out must head to the Privacy option in the Setup menu, where it could also be manually turned off.
"We hunt badness on the Internet so that you don't discover it the hard way, and our protection should never be an undue burden on your networking costs or your device's battery," Noé Lutz, Nathan Parker, and Stephan Somogyi of Google's Chrome and Safe Browsing teams said in a statement. "As more of the world relies on the mobile web, we want to make sure you're as safe as can be, as efficiently as possible."
Google also promised to consistently update the security feature so that it stays effective amid constantly evolving and upgrading web technologies. These updates are in the form of compressed files so that they don't tax user bandwidth or incur significant data costs, Venture Beat reported.
While the Safe Browsing mode update for Android may seem trivial, it is a critical improvement, as more and more people browse the web from mobile devices and Chrome claims a large share of the market, PC World noted.
