Google said on Thursday that Google Chat has replaced Hangouts and will now display banners alerting users about potential phishing and malware threats coming from personal accounts. This update for Google Chat is the next step in Google’s anti-phishing efforts.

Google outlined various security steps it has introduced to improve user safety during its 2022 I/O developer conference, including alerts about possible security risks and advice to resolve them. Other security promises from Google include extended two-step authentication, ad customisation, and more data security.

The new warning banners initially appeared in Gmail on Workspace accounts to alert users about efforts to trick them into clicking on a link that might lead to malware, phishing, or ransomware. Google added the banners to Google Docs at the end of April, warning users about potentially dangerous files in multiple Google Workspace applications (Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawing), regardless of where they accessed the link from.

This new functionality will be accessible in the coming weeks for both personal Google accounts and all Google Workspace subscribers.