Items tagged with App
Google Maps has new features that are aimed at making it easier to stay organized and to find your way when walking around on vacation or for business. One of the updates makes it easier for travelers to have all their reservations for air travel and hotel in one place. Google says that the new feature is a great way to keep reservations handy, allowing users to see hotel check-in time as they navigate to the next destination on the itinerary. To use the new feature, users tap the three gray lines at the top, left the corner of your screen and then on "Your Places." The "Reservations" tab lets users see all upcoming trips, and when a trip is selected from the list, all reservations are pulled...
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Many app makers are growing tired of paying the relatively high fees that the Apple App Store and Google Play are demanding. Google Play and the Apple App Store each take 30% of the revenue an app generates, leaving many developers looking for ways to maximize their revenue. Some have moved to take payments directly, and others, like Fortnite, have opted to completely bypass Google Play and offer their apps directly to customers. Dating app Tinder is taking a different route. Tinder has introduced a default payment process into the Android app that ignores the system Google Play has in place. Match Group spokeswoman Justine Sacco said that the company is constantly testing new features and payment...
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Apple has announced that it has disabled the Apple Watch Walkie Talkie app due to a recently discovered security and privacy vulnerability in the app. Apple didn't give any specifics on the vulnerability, only stating that the flaw could allow a person to listen on another customer's conversation without consent. Apple has apologized to users for removing the app, but it is working on a fix. Once a fix is made to address the vulnerability, Apple is expected to relaunch the Walkie Talkie app. Apple did issue a statement on the vulnerability, saying that it disabled the function "as we quickly fix the issue." Apple goes on to say that it will restore functionality as soon as possible. The...
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One of the smartest things that Samsung smartphones users can do is to keep their devices updated with the latest firmware from Samsung. Consistent updates allows them to have the latest security updates to help protect their device and personal data. A new report claims that 10 million Samsung smartphone users have downloaded an app from Google Play that is called "Updates for Samsung." The users apparently thought that the app was an official app from Samsung, but what the app does is redirect users to a website filled with ads where they are charged for firmware updates. Samsung offers firmware updates for its smartphones at no cost. As of this writing, the "Updates for Samsung" app was...
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182 Android apps have been linked to an adware campaign that has plagued users who download apps from Google Play. Trend Micro detected the adware campaign identified as AndroidOS_HiddenAd.HRXAA and AndroidOS_HiddenAd.GCLA. The adware was hidden inside free-to-download game and camera apps, the majority of which were found on the Google Play Store and had millions of downloads collectively. The adware behind the campaign was disguised as game and camera apps and was discovered in mid-June. Trend Micro says that it generated heuristic patterns that were used to analyze other samples it had detected and were able to deduce that the adware campaign had been active since 2018. All of the apps that...
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Digital wellness apps and products have become increasingly popular in recent years. Parents in particular have started to use “screen time apps” to monitor the amount of time their children are playing games or watching shows on their devices. Unfortunately, according to Apple, not all screen time apps are created equal and the company recently banned several of them due to privacy violations. Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, reported that Apple has banned apps that have misused mobile device management (MDM) systems. The offending MDM apps tracked information about children’s devices and then shared that information with parents who downloaded...
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Fraudulent apps on the Google Play store are a huge problem for Android users. Some of the fraudulent apps aim to steal money and other information. In February this year, word surfaced that a cryptocurrency-stealing malware had been found on Google Play, while malware-laden game apps were found last November that were affecting half a million users. Perhaps the biggest app fraud case was discovered in November 2018, when apps from Cheetah Mobile were committing millions of dollars in ad click fraud. However, now it appears click fraud is even more widespread and all too common. There are several popular Android apps from a major Chinese developer that have been called out for click fraud. One...
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Google Maps is one of those apps that just about every smartphone user has on their device no matter if they prefer iOS or Android. Google has updated the Maps app with cool features that make it useful on your daily commute to avoid traffic, accidents, and annoying construction. The search giant is also working on adding cool features like augmented reality navigation to overlay directions on the real world. Now, a new report claims that Google is facing increasing requests from law enforcement to tie users with a Google Account to the location of a crime. The report claims that the police are casting a very wide net by sending subpoenas to Google asking for the timeline information that Google...
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Microsoft started talking up the Your Phone app that lets you share content and control some phone functions between your PC and smartphone last summer. Now that the app is available for users, a new feature is rolling out that is only currently supported on a handful of devices. The feature is called Phone Screen and lets you mirror the screen of your supported smartphone to the Your Phone app on the PC. When the feature is active, users can interact with the apps on their computer screen using the mouse and keyboard. To access the functionality, PC users do need to be running the latest Windows 10 19H1 Preview Build (18335 or higher), you must be on the Surface Go, and using a small subset...
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Privacy is a big deal for many people around the world and many of the devices that we use do a poor jobs of protecting our data. Amazon, for instance, has been in hot water for sharing Alexa data and voice recordings with other users by mistake. Major tech firms have been caught up in privacy issues, particularly Facebook, with privacy violations that could result in record-breaking FTC fines. A report has now surfaced that many major companies with iPhone app are using a service that records every swipe and tap that the user makes without first asking for permission. Among the apps allegedly recording your interactions with them are apps from Hotels.com, Singapore Airlines, and Abercrombie...
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Anyone who was ever tired to buy prescription eyeglasses or sunglasses online knows that it's hard to find something that looks good on your face without having the frames in your hands. A new app from Warby Parker is using augmented reality to solve the dilemma of trying on glasses without actually having the frames there to put on your dome. AR certainly hasn't taken off like Apple or Snap hoped with its Spectacles, but this virtual try-on feature in the updated Warby Parker app is very cool. The app uses AR to overlay glasses in whatever frame style you choose on your face. Warby Parker has offered a successful in-home try on feature where they send up to five frames to your home for you to...
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Facebook just can't put itself in a good light lately. A new report has shined a bright light on a Facebook policy that was paying people to install something called the Facebook Research VPN. Facebook allegedly paid teens and and adult users to install the VPN, which allowed the company to collect all the user's phone and web activity at all times. Facebook had a similar app called Onavo Protect that was banned by Apple last summer. The new Facebook Research VPN app is said to potentially violate Apple privacy policy, and was available for Android devices as well. Facebook admitted to TechCrunch that it was running the research program and had since 2016. The social network was paying...
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Google Maps has been steadily adding new features to the app to give more functionality and match other offerings like Waze. One of the latest features that Google Maps added was speed limit indicators, but the catch was that initially those were only available in the San Francisco Bay area and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It appears that Google is now rolling the speed limit indicators out to other parts of the country. Reports from three different areas indicate that the speed limits were live on Google Maps. The three regions include New York City, Los Angeles, and Minnesota. There has been no official comment from Google on when the speed limits will roll out to other areas. With no Maps updates...
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Google is facing a serious issue with privacy and malicious apps on the Google Play store for Android users. The company recently kicked 85 apps that were malware-laden off the Play Store, and has now announced that the removal process for any apps that ask for SMS or Call Log permissions is beginning for developers who fail to follow specific steps. The policy change was announced last year, and Google has reportedly been reminding devs of the change. Removals for violation of the policy will begin in the next few weeks. Android users who have been using an alternative dialer or messaging app could be impacted. The reason for the policy change is that call and SMS log permissions have been abused...
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