Android is dunking on iPhone at scam protection

Android is quietly becoming one of the safest places to answer a call or read a text, at least compared to iPhones. New survey data shared by Google shows Android users reported fewer scam texts and higher confidence in their phone’s ability to protect them, thanks to deeper AI-driven protections built into Google Messages, Phone by Google, Gmail, and Play Protect.

For context, mobile scams cost victims over $400 billion globally in the past year, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance. And with scammers increasingly using AI to mimic real customer-service agents or acquaintances, the stakes are only rising. Google says Android uses the power of AI to proactively stop these scams, and because the platform’s defenses are layered, much of the protection kicks in before an attack reaches you.

A recent Google/YouGov study across the US, India, and Brazil found Android users were 58% more likely than iPhone users to report receiving zero scam texts over the past week. Pixel owners saw an even bigger gap, with users 96% more likely than iPhone owners to say they didn’t receive any scam texts at all. Meanwhile, iPhone users were 65% more likely to see three or more scam texts in a single week. And it’s not just about volume: Android users were 20% more likely to describe their scam protections as “very effective” or “extremely effective.” By comparison, iPhone users were 150% more likely than Pixel users to say their device offered no effective scam protection.

While these are Google’s own findings, third-party research backs up the trend. A Counterpoint Research study found Android devices offered AI-based protections across nine key security layers, while iPhones covered only two. Separately, Leviathan Security Group reached similar conclusions, ranking the Pixel 10 Pro as the strongest default scam-protection device, followed by other recent Android flagships, ahead of the iPhone 17 Pro.

A big part of that lead comes from the way Android actively intercepts threats across calls, texts, and email. Google Messages uses AI to flag suspicious messages mid-conversation, not just at first contact. Google’s Phone app can screen unknown callers automatically and even warns mid-call if a scammer begins asking for sensitive information. All of that processing happens on-device, so Google never stores call content. In fact, our recent APK teardown suggested Pixel phones may eventually bring this scam-detection capability to chat apps like WhatsApp, Signal, or Instagram.

On the web, Gmail blocks 99.9% of spam and phishing, and Google says new LLM-based filtering improved that by another 20%. Chrome Safe Browsing offers another layer of protection, and if a scammer still tries to lure you into installing shady apps, Play Protect scans billions of apps daily, including those already on your phone, to help shut them down.

Does this mean iPhone users are unprotected? Of course not. But the latest data does suggest that scammers are having a much harder time breaking through Android’s defenses, especially on Pixel and newer Samsung or Motorola devices.