Google has been hit with a series of antitrust losses over the past couple of years, and the latest ruling could force it to radically change how it distributes apps on Android. The Android maker will soon have to let developers sell app content in new ways, and Microsoft is anxious to take advantage of that. Xbox...Read more...
People are blurring their homes on Google Maps to maintain privacy, and potentially thwart burglaries. A police officer in California noted home owners are using the blur tactic to minimize any details nefarious characters might find while perusing homes on Google Maps.
While Google Maps is facing stiffer...Read more...
Microsoft has spent most of the last couple of decades playing catchup in an number of key growth markets. Microsoft, however, is now in a leadership position in the AI space thanks in part to its partnership with OpenAI. The company's GPT-infused Copilot has popped up in Windows, Office, Bing, Edge, and now it's on...Read more...
A reckoning has come for mobile app stores. Apple is, by all accounts, going to be forced to open up app distribution on the iPhone thanks to Europe's Digital Markets Act, and Epic has bested Google in court to show that the Play Store is an illegal monopoly. In a separate case, Google was sued by numerous state...Read more...
TikTok from Chinese megafirm ByteDance has turned short-form video into a social media phenomenon, making Twitter look pretty dumb for canning Vine a few years back. The skyrocketing popularity of TikTok has some security experts and political leaders concerned. As a Chinese company, the Chinese government has access...Read more...
Twitter grew to prominence with a focus on short text content, but it has been expanding into audio in recent years with features like Spaces voice chat. Now, Twitter is jumping into podcasts, which will be accessible as part of the revamped Spaces tab. This isn't some "in the coming months" change—Twitter says that...Read more...
Google Maps is gaining a few new features that are aimed at helping you plan your next adventure. One of the new features will even alert family and friends when you arrive home safely.
Google Maps has long been a favorite for helping navigate one's way through a new city, or to help plan out the best route to take...Read more...
Lately, Google has been making some changes to Play Store policies. The company recently announced that Android apps would be barred from using the Accessibility API for recording phone calls. Google also started rolling out a new data safety section to the Play Store that will require app developers to disclose their...Read more...
In November, Apple announced that it would reduce its App Store fees to 15 percent for the first $1 million in yearly revenue for developers following pressure from Epic Games. Like Apple before its policy change, Google took a 30 percent cut of digital goods sold through its app marketplace. Today, Google announced...Read more...
A new report has surfaced that claims Google is doing something rather dubious to help develop and advance its own apps. According to the report, Google has been collecting usage data on rival apps from Android phones under a project called Android Lockbox. Google has allegedly collected sensitive Android user data...Read more...
Adware is rampant in app stores. Google, Apple, and others frequently take down malicious apps, but it can be difficult to determine who published these apps in the first place. ESET researchers recently discovered not only a year-long adware campaign, but the developer behind it.
ESET researchers found a total of...Read more...
The number of malicious Android apps that make it to the Google Play store continues to grow at an alarming rate. Sophos has issued a new report regarding 15 apps on Google Play that are abusive and designed to do nothing but serve ads to smartphone users. On top of spamming users with ads on their mobile devices...Read more...
The battle against malware never ends. Nearly 200 harmful apps were discovered in the Google Play Store in September 2019. These apps were installed by over 335 million users.
Most of the harmful ads contained malicious or misleading malware. These apps were downloaded by more than 300 million people. Google...Read more...
Last week Google gutted around 46 apps that were pushed from a single Chinese developer. The developer goes by the name of iHandy, and when Google axed the apps, it didn't say why it removed them. A new report is now indicating that the reason why Google removed the apps was due to "deceptive or disruptive ads."
A...Read more...
A new app rocketed to the top of the Chinese Apple App Store charts over the weekend called Zao. The app launched in China on Friday and allows users to swap their faces with film or TV characters very easily. The app required users to submit a series of selfies to the app where the user blinks, moves their mouth, and...Read more...
I can no longer scroll through my Facebook or Twitter feed without seeing an image of someone I know who has been digitally aged, or altered in some other way. That's because FaceApp has gone viral again. In case you missed it (impossible at this point), this mobile application lets you apply various filters to your...Read more...
Well, this is surprising—a new security report makes the bold claim that "all mobile applications are vulnerable" to one kind of threat or another, and it really does not matter whether you are using Android or iOS. In fact, according to the report, iOS is not only just as insecure as Android, but even more so, if...Read more...
Google can't seem to figure out how to stop nefarious developers from offering apps via Google Play that are filled with malware and adware. In April, word surfaced that apps with ties to a group called DU Group were committing click fraud and amassed over 50 million downloads. A new group of apps with far more...Read more...
A software development company out of the UK called Collabora has unveiled something that Linux users will be excited about. The software is called SPURV, and it is described as an "experimental containerized Android environment" that is designed to allow Linux users to run Android apps in windows alongside native applications on desktop Linux. Read more...
Microsoft has announced an update to the revenue sharing deal it has with developers of apps that are offered via the Microsoft Store. The updated Microsoft Store App Developer agreement allows develops to keep more of the revenue their apps generate if certain conditions are met. The new fee structure will put up to...Read more...
Privacy is a big issue for users of the social network Facebook. The company has been called out for violating the privacy of users multiple times and faces fines that could be in the billions from the FTC. While Facebook will shutter one of its apps for privacy issues, called Onavo, there are still multiple...Read more...
One of the first things that most people do when they get a new Android device is to log into their Google account. That allows the preinstalled apps to update automatically, among other things. Updates are important because often the update is meant to patch some sort of flaw that makes the app or device unstable or to patch a security hole Read more...