Tag Archives: Google

Apple and Google block UK COVID app update for breaking data-sharing rules | Mashable

Posted on April 14, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Google and Apple have blocked an update to the UK government’s COVID-19 contact tracing app for breaching privacy terms, the BBC reports.

The update, which was expected to roll out in time with the lifting of national lockdown on Monday, would have requested users who tested positive for COVID-19 to upload their history of venue check-ins. The app, used in England and Wales, has long operated with a feature that allows users to check in to a shop, pub, restaurant, or other venue using a QR code — some are required by law to display official NHS QR code posters and collect contact details, while others are encouraged.

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Wikipedia wants to charge Google, Amazon, and Apple for using its content | Mashable

Posted on March 17, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Everybody uses Wikipedia.

It’s currently the 8th most visited website in the U.S. and the 13th most trafficked site in the world. The website bills itself as the “free encyclopedia,” providing knowledge free of charge to a global user base. However, the nonprofit which runs Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, hopes that it soon won’t be free for everybody.

Don’t worry, it’ll still likely be free for you, dear Mashable reader. But for companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, Wikipedia is hoping to charge them for publishing its content.

A new report by Wired looks into a brand new division under the Wikimedia umbrella called Wikimedia Enterprise. In a first for the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Enterprise will offer a paid service targeting Wikipedia’s biggest users: Big Tech companies.

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Google Is Testing End-to-End Encryption in Android Messages | WIRED

Posted on November 23, 2020 by | Leave a comment

GOOGLE HAS BEGUN rolling out end-to-end encryption for Rich Communication Service, the text-messaging standard the industry giant is pushing as an alternative to SMS.

Abbreviated as RCS, Rich Communication Service provides a, well, richer user experience than the ancient SMS standard. Typing indicators, presence information, location sharing, longer messages, and better media support are key selling points. They lead to things like better-quality photos and videos, chat over Wi-Fi, knowing when a message is read, sharing reactions, and better capabilities for group chats. As Ars reviews editor Ron Amadeo noted last year, RCS interest from carriers has been tepid, so Google has been rolling it out with limited support.

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How new smart speakers from Apple, Amazon, Google stack up | Mashable

Posted on October 14, 2020 by | Leave a comment

The HomePod mini, announced Tuesday at Apple’s tech event, is the newest smart speaker out there. It joins refreshed models from the competition, Amazon and Google; the speakers all feature shiny new homes and let you play music, ask questions, and control your smart home and other devices. Like those from Amazon and Google, Apple’s latest device costs around $100.

So, what’s different about the three new speakers? Here’s the latest on which you should use for all your Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant needs.

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Daily Crunch: Android phones become earthquake detectors | TechCrunch

Posted on August 12, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Google said that smartphone accelerometers are sensitive enough to detect P-waves, which are the first waves to arrive during an earthquake. So if your Android phone thinks it has detected an earthquake, it will communicate with a central server to confirm.

In California, Google is also partnering with the United States Geological Survey and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to provide earthquake alerts. For everyone else, you’ll only see this earthquake data if you search for “earthquake” or a similar term.

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Google Accused Of Tracking App Users Who Opted Out | Digital Trends

Posted on July 16, 2020 by | Leave a comment

A class-action lawsuit filed on Tuesday accuses Google of tracking user activity through various mobile apps — even if people opted out of sharing their data.

The suit was filed against the tech giant on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as first reported by Reuters. The complaint accuses Google of logging users’ news apps, ride-sharing apps, and other types of apps even if people had the tracking turned off in their account settings.

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5 Benefits of Strategic Partnerships | business.com

Posted on May 1, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Strategic partnerships have mutual benefits and can lead to long-term profits.

  • Strategic partnerships occur when two businesses combine forces to expand their brand reach.
  • Co-branding opportunities add value to your company, increase brand awareness and create brand trust.
  • Successful strategic partnerships include Spotify and Google, Sherwin-Williams and Pottery Barn, and McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

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Alphabet grew more than expected in Q1, but its ad business saw ‘significant slowdown’ in March | TechCrunch

Posted on April 29, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Today after the bell, Alphabet, parent company of Google, reported its Q1 2020 performance. The company’s $41.16 billion in revenue for the three-month period came in ahead of expectations, besting analyst estimates of $40.33 billion. However, its earnings per share came in under expectations, with the street anticipating $10.38 in per-share profit, while Alphabet delivered a slimmer $9.87 in per-share income.

Shares of Alphabet rose around 2.8% in after-hours trading after shedding 3.3% in regular trading.

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Google Will Charge Law Enforcement to Access User Data | Digital Trends

Posted on January 27, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Google has begun charging law enforcement for access to user data, according to a report by the New York Times. The company is levying fees of $45 for a subpoena, $60 for a wiretap, and $245 for a search warrant, according to documents reviewed by the NYT.

The company receives a high volume of requests from law enforcement agencies to hand over data about its users and has therefore decided to bring in charges to “offset the costs” of compiling this data. According to the report, Google is legally allowed to levy these charges but traditionally big technology companies have handed over data without any charges.

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YouTube, sorry for verification flap, reverses course | Fast Company

Posted on September 24, 2019 by | Leave a comment

The YouTubers are mad and YouTube is sorry.

Google’s video service says it “missed the mark” yesterday when it announced sweeping changes to its verification program. Those changes would have stripped the verification badges from some of YouTube’s most prominent users, which might have affected how they appear in search results, but now the service is apparently rethinking its approach.

In an apologetic statement sent out from the Twitter account of CEO Susan Wojcicki, the executive apologized “for the frustration & hurt that we caused with our new approach to verification.” YouTube is “working to address your concerns & we’ll have more updates soon,” Wojcicki said.

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