If you own an Android phone check the settings now. Once a month, Google releases a free Android update for scores of smartphones. These security upgrades fix the inevitable bugs that come to affect the operating system, ensuring your phone is as safe to use as possible.

Often, Google discovers bugs and flaws that it thinks hackers could - or already are - taking advantage of, potentially finding workarounds or nefarious ways to bypass security on your phone and get at your personal data or information.

It’s no different this month as Google has released its Android Security Bulletin for April, revealing a total of 62 vulnerabilities (known as common vulnerabilities and exposures, or CVEs) in Android that the free update fixes.

Worryingly, one of these bugs has been classed as ‘critical’ by Google, the highest severity possible, and two are being exploited already by crooks who have got wise to the opportunity to hack phones.

“With two vulnerabilities currently being exploited by cybercriminals, it’s absolutely essential that Android users update their devices immediately,” Adam Boynton, Senior Security Strategy Manager EMEIA at security firm Jamf told Express.co.uk.

He said that one of the Android bugs “would allow an attacker to access sensitive information without user interaction,” while another “could lead to memory corruption or even privilege escalation if exploited by attackers”.

That means if you haven't updated your Android phone recently, there’s a chance you could be a risk. Though falling victim to hacks like this is extremely unlikely, it’s best practice to keep your phone’s software fully up to date at all times to minimise that risk.

“Although this is a targeted attack, we strongly recommend that all users update their Android OS,” Boynton said. “Now that these CVEs are public, more attackers are likely to target devices that have not yet been updated. Keeping all devices across every operating system up to date is one of the most effective ways to safeguard against attackers.”

One catch is that not all Android phones get these updates at the same time. If you own a Google Pixel that is still receiving software updates, which at the time of writing is any Pixel 6 phone or newer, you should be able to head to your settings up and check for updates and find this April fix there for you to install.

Google makes its Android partners such as Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi and Oppo aware of these bugs in advance but it’s up to those firms to push out the security updates to all supported phones. If you have an Android phone that isn’t a Pixel, make sure you turn on automatic software updates or keep checking your settings in the coming days to see when the update is available.

Android makers have got better in recent years at supporting their devices for longer but unfortunately it’s usually the priciest models that get the longest support. All Google Pixel phones now get seven years of software and security updates from their release date, as do flagship Samsung phones.