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Ever get a suspicious text from someone claiming to be your friend, but they appear to be texting from the right number? Well, in an era of number spoofing, which involves manipulating Caller ID to make yourself look like someone you’re not, one can never be too careful. That’s why Google is finally taking out of beta a Messages feature that helps you fight back.
Called “Android System Key Verifier,” the idea is simple, and has actually been available as a separate app before. Now, right from the Messages app, you and a contact will be able to scan QR codes shown on or sent from each other’s devices to verify each other as contacts. After that, you’ll then be able to check suspicious messages to see if they came from a verified contact. The new QR code system is an alternative to a previous one, which required you and your contact to check if your chats had the same 80-digit verification code.
To try it out, open the Google Contacts app. Tap on your friend’s contact page, and under Contact settings, tap Verify keys. From there, have your friend scan the QR code that pops up on your device, which they can do either in-person or via a screenshot. Then, repeat the process, but with you scanning a QR code from them. Note that while you can do this remotely via screenshots, for safety’s sake, it might be best to do this in person, especially if you’re already unsure the person you’re texting is genuine (if that’s the case, you might actually be better off comparing verification codes, which you can still do).
Once your contact is verified, you’ll be able to make sure all future texts from them aren’t spoofed. Just open the suspicious message, then in the top-right corner of the screen, hit More > Details > Verify keys and follow the on-screen instructions. You’re able to do this in group chats, by navigating to More > Group Details, then scrolling to the contact you want to verify and selecting More > Verify keys.
It’s not perfect—you’ll want to verify your contacts proactively, before getting offending messages (or ignore the offending message until you can see your contact in person). Your contact could also lose their verification status if they get a new device or SIM card. But it’s definitely more convenient than the previous solution, with the 80-digit code.
That said, if you do want to compare codes with your contact, you can still do that. On the page with the QR code, select Compare verification codes instead, which will show you a page with your code, to check against your friend’s.
