Google Messages could soon dump spammy international texts into a separate folder

Key Takeaways

• Google Messages is enhancing spam and scam detection with a new cross-country folder.
• The new folder will trap all messages coming from outside your country of residence that aren't from known contacts.
• Messages marked as cross-country wouldn't trigger a notification. Timeline for a potential release is currently unknown.

Spam and scam messages are problems that persist, even after measures to counter them. Google Messages, for example, has an auto spam detection feature that offers an on-screen warning whenever you open a message that has been marked as spam. These messages would ideally go directly to the app's spam folder.

Further, to prevent users from falling victim to a potential scam message, the platform shows a pop-up box with a warning when you tap on a link from an RCS message received from an unknown sender.

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To further combat the problem, Google Messages appears to be taking proactive steps. The messaging app already offers ways to organize the texts you receive, with messages landing in either your Inbox, the spam folder or an archived folder where you can save important conversations. Now, as highlighted by code sleuth Assemble Debug in a report for Android Authority, it appears that the tech giant is working on a new categorization folder that will house texts from unknown international sources.

Spotted in the app's messages.android_20240923_01_RC00.phone_samsung_openbeta_dynamic beta build, the new folder might be named "cross-country," acting as a safety net for potentially fraudulent messages.

Cross-country messages won't trigger a

<string name="cross_country_banner_body">For your safety, international messages from non-contacts will be placed in this folder. You can disable this feature in Settings > Safety.</string>

<string name="cross_country_banner_confirm_button">Move to inbox</string>

<string name="cross_country_banner_dismiss_button">Go to settings</string>

<string name="cross_country_banner_title">Why this message is here</string>

Considering that you'll already have known-ones abroad saved on your contact list, the upcoming cross-country folder would essentially trap any and all messages coming from outside your country of residence that aren't from known contacts.

The new folder might be enabled by default, but the report suggests that users will have the option to toggle the sorting feature off. Further, users will have the option to manually mark texts as cross-country or move already marked texts to the regular inbox in case they're from a legitimate source.

Elsewhere, to further prevent users from engaging with potential spam or scam, messages marked as cross-country wouldn't trigger a notification, and users would have to manually go into the folder to find any international texts (from unknown numbers) they might have received. The folder has only been spotted in code for now, so it is unlikely to roll out any time soon.