Google has turned its Safe Browsing security feature on by default for its Chrome browser found on Android devices.

This safety feature protects users from entering phishing sites and other web pages that might have dangerous malware.

Venture Beat reports that Google has turned the feature on for devices running on Google Play Services version 8.1, and Chrome version 46 or higher.

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ZDNet reports that Google has already been protecting millions of people who browse using Chrome for years. In 2012, around 600 million users were reportedly protected by Safe Browsing. Now, the number tops at around one billion.

Tech Crunch adds that back then, it was only available for desktop users, and for those who turned on Google's data compression service while using Chrome on Android.

Google says that it took years to port the safety feature to mobile platforms due to the inherent difficulty in keeping track of potentially dangerous websites. Using the data compression service, Google can easily blacklist harmful URLs by filtering all unencrypted web traffic. On mobile, however, it's a different issue.

Google's Safe Browsing feature sends information to devices, eating network bandwidth and battery power. Knowing that both are highly important for mobile users, Google needed to optimize the service so that it can be both useful and not power-heavy on the devices.

Noé Lutz, Stephan Somogyi, and Nathan Parker, all members of Google's Safe Browsing team, said that they had to rethink their approach and find the best way to protect mobile users, especially when they are in different parts of the world.

The Safe Browsing feature is now available for those using Chrome version 46. It is turned on by default, but should users want to turn it off (and put themselves at risk for malware and phishing), it can be turned off via Chrome Settings > Privacy.

Google said that Safe Browsing will be collecting anonymous data that will help to improve the service for all users.

TagsGoogl Chrome, Google Safe Browsing Feature, Google Chrome on Android, Google Chrome Safe Browsing Android