Are Android Phones Actually Safer Than iPhones?

Smartphone users in the United States, India, and Brazil can be assured that their assumptions about the devices' security are wrong. A recent survey has shown that, surprisingly, Android devices are better than Apple's phones when it comes to protecting against scam messages and calls.

The YouGov study, which had 5,000 respondents, showed that the iOS group was considerably more open to being scammed through the phone. About 65% of the iPhone owners said they had received at least three scam messages in a week. On the other hand, 58% of the Android users claimed that not a single scam message had been delivered to them in the same week.

Android users again gave their devices more credit for stopping the scams. The poll results indicate that they were 20% more likely than iOS users to rate their phone’s protection as extremely effective. In particular, the owners of Pixel smartphones were marked: 96% of them confirmed having no scam texts at all. Simultaneously, iPhone users were more than twice likely to experience the influx of scam messages as well as to consider the protection offered by their device as ineffective.

There was a different comparison made in assessing what devices would be the most efficient when it comes to dealing with scams and fraud. The four devices under consideration were Google Pixel 10 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, and Motorola Razr+ 2025. The iPhone was at the bottom of the list in terms of the number of built-in security features but Android products were showing up as having strong and multi-layered protection.

Important distinguishing features of Android include active call screening, immediate scam alerts, and on-device AI that recognizes doubtful messages. Google Messages secures the inbox against spam and its Scam Detection function marks messages from new senders that might be harmful. Links that seem to be suspicious are instantly blocked so users are not allowed to fall prey to a scam.

The Phone application on Android adds more protection by automatically allowing recognized spam calls. In the regions where the Call Screen feature is available, the phone can take the user's place in the call, determine whether the caller is a scammer, and even give a warning about the risky conversation patterns going on in real-time.

The Android system also prevents high-risk activities during calls, like installing apps that are not trusted or turning off the security settings, thereby lessening the chances of falling victim to social engineering attacks.

The results indicate that despite the fact that iOS is normally highlighted as secure because of Apple's controlled ecosystem, Android devices might provide better protection against spam texts and frauds over the phone, particularly when aided by Google's sophisticated AI-based security measures.