New Delhi: Google India has outlined new privacy and safety measures for users as the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025 take effect, while also announcing expanded partnerships with organisations including IIT Madras’ Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI) and the CyberPeace Foundation. The announcements were made at an AI pre-summit event in New Delhi, part of the run-up to the India AI Impact Summit scheduled for February 2026.
At the event, Vikash Chourasia, Scientist D in the IT Ministry’s Cyber Laws and Data Governance Group, emphasised the crucial role of privacy-enhancing technologies such as federated learning, homomorphic encryption and differential privacy in implementing the DPDP Act. Describing India’s journey with data protection laws, he said, “Now we have to drive the car.” He added, “That’s where we feel that PETs are the core agents for us to deliver the implementation of the DPDP. And that is where we look forward to partnering with institutions and academic groups.”
Chourasia noted that several discussions with bodies like IIT Madras’ CeRAI and training programmes for developers are planned in the coming weeks. He also said, “I believe privacy is a problem which probably could be resolved at the engineering level more than at the user level. Because the user is the end consumer.”
The DPDP Rules, notified earlier this week, mark a major step toward enforcing India’s privacy regime. While some provisions such as the amendment to the Right to Information Act and the establishment of the Data Protection Board are already active, requirements related to user consent and data breach notifications will take effect after 18 months, with timelines expected to differ for large tech firms and start-ups.
Google showcased the latest additions to its safety portfolio aimed at reducing online harms. A new scam detection tool is being rolled out on Pixel phones, using Gemini Nano to analyse calls on-device and alert users to suspicious activity. According to Google, “The feature is off by default, applies only to calls from unknown numbers (not saved contacts), plays a beep to notify participants, and can be turned off by the user at any time.”
The company is also piloting a feature to curb digital arrest scams, which have surged across India. Android 11 and above users will now receive a warning when attempting to share their screens with an unknown contact, with an option to immediately end the call and stop sharing. The feature has been developed in partnership with stakeholders including Google Play, Navi and Paytm.
Google further announced an Android-based security protocol, Enhanced Phone Number Verification, which replaces SMS-based OTP verification with a consented SIM-based check. It also revealed that Google Pay shows more than one million fraud warnings each week, while Google Play Protect has blocked over 115 million attempts to install harmful sideloaded apps that misuse sensitive permissions for financial fraud.
The company said these measures are part of its broader effort to strengthen user safety as India enters a new phase of digital data protection.
BI Bureau
