Aside from a user registering their voice data, Google Assistant does not allow any other interaction with the devicefrom the lock screen. Aside from general questions, most phone functions, such as making a call to a person, are blocked until the owner unlocks the device.
But it seems that in the near future, Google plans to relax its strict rules regarding the lock screen. 9to5Google conducted an A/B test, which shows the Google Assistant Beta app (version 10.28), sending a text message directly from the lock screen.
A "send message" option now appears, which allows the user to send an SMS, even when the device is locked. This feature is also visible in the following screenshot:
As it's still in A/B testing, the feature isn't available to everyone. For example, when testing this new feature on a Pixel 3 running Android Q, it still asked for "Continue Unlock." It's unclear at this time whether this new feature will be released to the general public.
However, if Google decides to release this feature to the public, it will undoubtedly raise many privacy concerns . Google Assistant still has a weakness in voice recognition. This weakness could allow third parties to send messages from users' phones without their consent.
While voice commands are convenient and effective, Google and other companies offering such digital assistantsneed to focus more on the balance between privacy and feature offering.
