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Tag: Google

  • Google Maps’ incognito mode now available for iOS users

    Google Maps’ incognito mode now available for iOS users

    You might recall that back in October, Google disseminated an update that added incognito mode to the Android version of Google Maps. First, we do need to get something straight for all of you philanderers our there. This mode doesn’t allow you to travel to your weekly rendezvous sight unseen as though you were wearing Harry Potter’s “Cloak of Invisibility.” Instead, when Maps’ incognito mode is enabled, searches made on the app and places you navigate to are blocked from being added to your Google account. As a result, you won’t receive any personalized recommendations in the Maps app (like places to dine) and your Location History will not be updated. Today, Google has announced that this feature is now available on the iOS version of Google Maps.

    In addition, Google points out that a new feature called bulk delete will be coming to Android users next month; this will allow them to find and delete multiple places from their Timeline and Location History in one fell swoop. But Google wants you to make sure that you know what you’ll be missing by not allowing it to keep your Location History. If you use incognito mode or delete Location History, you won’t be able to see wait times at restaurants and grocery stores (which is computed using “aggregated and anonymized Location History information”). You also won’t be able to see previews of the parking situation at your destination, be given a time-to-leave alert, use “Your Match” to calculate how much you might enjoy a particular eatery and use the Explore tab to find nearby coffee shops, parks restaurants and more.

    Lastly, Google is adding a much needed new feature to the Android version of the Google Opinion Rewards app. The app allows you to build up Play Store credit by answering survey questions. Depending on what is being asked, users can score 10 cents to nearly $1 each time they participate. The credit must be used within a year, something that not every user knew. Recently, there were some complaints about credits disappearing from the app after they had expired. To make sure that users don’t waste any credits, an expiration date for the oldest credit will now appear underneath the account owner’s current balance.

    We’ve used the app during the year and all it takes is a few seconds of your time. And the credit can be used to purchase videos, books, apps and to make in-app purchases. Android users can install the app from this link. Because Google Play Store credits would be useless to iOS users, this version of the app pays out in small cash credits that are deposited into a PayPal account.

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  • Founders of Google announce a major corporate restructuring

    Founders of Google announce a major corporate restructuring

    Today, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google, announced that they would step down from their respective roles in Alphabet Inc., the parent company of the world’s largest search engine. Continuing forward, current Google CEO Sundar Pichai will take the chief executive officer position at Alphabet while retaining his role at Google.

    This change comes after four years after Google first announced the new public holding company Alphabet, as well as its own transition from a standalone to a subsidiary of that company. When the change occurred, Page and Brin took the positions of CEO and president at Alphabet, Inc, respectively, while Pichai took the reins at Google.

    This new transition reflects Google’s growth in the scale and variety of its ventures and offered services. Page and Brin write, “Today, in 2019, if [Google] was a person, it would be a young adult of 21 and it would be time to leave the roost. While it has been a tremendous privilege to be deeply involved in the day-to-day management of the company for so long, we believe it’s time to assume the role of proud parents,” in a founder’s letter posted.

    This doesn’t mean the co-founders are leaving the company entirely, however. They continue to write, “We are deeply committed to Google and Alphabet for the long term, and will remain actively involved as Board members, shareholders and co-founders. In addition, we plan to continue talking with Sundar regularly, especially on topics we’re passionate about!”

    With this change taking place, newly-appointed Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai’s responsibilities will now include managing Nest, Waymo, Wing, and other subsidiaries that were related to but not directly affiliated with Google.

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  • Google adds dynamic email support to Gmail on Android and iOS

    Google adds dynamic email support to Gmail on Android and iOS

    Google Docs is not the only app the Mountain View company is improving this week. As the title says, Gmail, Google’s email app is getting important upgrades on both Android and iOS platforms.

    The highlight of the latest update is dynamic email, new functionality that is now rolling out to Gmail on Android and iOS. Dynamic email lets Gmail users take action directly within a message. For example, you can respond to a comment, RSVP to an event, or manage subscription preferences directly within the email.

    Another advantage of having support for dynamic email is that the functionality can be kept up to date so that when you open an email you’ll see the most up-to-date information about the subject.

    Now, according to Google, the rollout is starting today, but it may take more than two weeks for everyone to see the functionality on their Android and iOS devices. It’s also worth mentioning that dynamic email support will be turned on by default when the functionality arrives on a compatible device.

  • Vingroup unit partners with Google to make TVs

    Vingroup unit partners with Google to make TVs

    VinSmart, a unit of private conglomerate Vingroup, will produce smart televisions in partnership with Google, the company announced Wednesday.

    The partnership will allow the electronics producer to develop its Vsmart TVs on Google’s Android operating system.

    VinSmart is set to release the first five models, which have 4K resolution and Google Assistant in Vietnamese, next month.

    The TVs, which will have Dolby sound systems, will be made in Hanoi’s Hoa Lac Industrial Park.

    After Google, VinSmart will look for international partners to develop more smart products meeting global standards under a Vietnamese brand, Vingroup’s deputy director Le Mai Tuyet Trinh said in a statement.

    Tech expert Tran Manh Hiep said that VinSmart TVs will find it very difficult to compete in the high-end segment dominated by Samsung and LG. He said it is better that the Vietnamese company focuses on the affordable segment.

    VinSmart, established in June last year, has already introduced eight smartphone models, and exported them to Spain, Myanmar and Russia. It had announced in May that it has plans to expand this to India, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia this year. The company also said that it was looking into making air conditioners and refrigerators.

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  • Google’s Checking Accounts May Help Banks Boost Deposits

    Google’s Checking Accounts May Help Banks Boost Deposits

    Google’s newly announced checking account service could aid banks in their battle for consumer deposits, as digital-only banks lure away customers with friendly mobile apps and higher interest rates.

    The technology giant last week said it is partnering with Citigroup and Stanford Federal. The move could help U.S. financial institutions retain customers or add new ones as the industry contends with slowing growth in deposits amid rising competition from digital-only banks, analysts say.

    The growth at the biggest U.S. banks slowed to 2.2 percent last year, the lowest level recorded since 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. Consumers have flocked to newer, digital-only banks at an increasing pace, as digital banks offer flashy mobile apps and sometimes higher interest rates for their savings.

    As Citigroup debuted its national digital bank and restructured its U.S. consumer operations last year, it brought Anand Selva from its Asia business to lead the new unit. Average deposits in the firm’s U.S. retail banking arm have climbed 2.9 percent this year to $186 billion.

    Citigroup’s partnership with Google could mark another major milestone for Selva, who has likely gained insights from the firm’s partnerships with Paytm and Grab in Asia. Paytm is India’s largest payment platform while Grab is Southeast Asia’s dominant ride-hailing app.

    Similar to how airlines act as an account acquisition tool for credit cards, banks would be using Alphabet’s Google as a way to add customers, said Betsy Graseck, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in a research note. This is not attaching your current checking account to Google Pay. It must be a new checking account, she wrote.

    For Google, the bank partnerships will give the tech giant bigger muscles to show advertisers how marketing dollars spent on its system can drive purchases, notes Graseck. In a Morgan Stanley survey, consumers expressed high levels of confidence in Google’s ability to offer banking services, she said.

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  • Google News to receive an important new feature in 2020

    Google News to receive an important new feature in 2020

    Beyond the Headlines is one of the important new features that Google News users will get next year. It’s meant to “connect readers with in-depth articles exploring important issues such as healthcare, the environment, education and more.”

    More importantly, Beyond the Headlines offers Google News users an estimated read-time feature, which lets them know how long it takes to read a story. Some media outlets already have this feature implemented on their websites, so it’s nice that Google has decided to show it the news app as well.

    According to Google, these pieces of news are surfaced and organized using Google News algorithms. Beyond the Headlines is now available on desktop globally in US English, so if you can’t wait until next year until it comes to mobile, you can check it out right now.

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  • Google Explores Bank Accounts With Citi, Stanford Federal

    Google Explores Bank Accounts With Citi, Stanford Federal

    Google is in talks with U.S. banks about offering checking accounts to its customers. The jointly-developed accounts could mirror the forms deployed in Asia.

    Google has said it is working with initial partners – Citigroup and Stanford Federal Credit Union – on checking accounts for customers. The particular features and functions of the Google Pay-linked checking accounts are still being deliberated, but one working model could be Citi’s existing partnership with the messaging service WeChat in Asia, where Citibank customers make payments and complete other everyday banking transactions through the WeChat platform.

    We’re exploring how we can partner with banks and credit unions in the U.S. to offer smart checking accounts through Google Pay, helping their customers benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools, said a Google spokesperson. Similar to rival Apple Pay, Google Pay allows smartphones to be used for purchases online and in stores.

    Privacy and transparency are, and will continue to be critical priorities,” said Citigroup in a statement. A bank spokesperson quoted by FT said that it would control the banking relationships and that the accounts would comply with the same regulations as a traditional account.

    Although mobile and online payments such as WeChat Pay and Alipay are already widely used in China, Silicon Valley companies are just starting to move into the highly regulated world of financial services in the U.S. Earlier this year, Apple and Goldman Sachs teamed up to launch a credit card, offering cash back on purchases of Apple devices and an iPhone app to track
    spending.

    Google’s new banking effort, code-named Cache, is the technology giant’s latest foray into the personal finance industry. Google Pay, which already has tens of millions of users around the world, is already popular in India.

    On Monday, the technology firm announced plans to launch Google Pay in Singapore next year, partnering local banks DBS and OCBC. Our approach is going to be to partner deeply with banks and the financial system,” said Caesar Sengupta, Google’s general manager of payments.

  • Google Maps update adds a new translator feature

    Google Maps update adds a new translator feature

    The new translator feature that will be added this month should allow a phone to speak out a place’s name and address in the local lingo. In order to do that, you’ll have to tap the new speaker button next to the place name or address, and Google Maps should then say it out loud.

    In addition, Google Maps will be able to link you to the Google Translate app when you need to have a more complex conversation. Thanks to the text-to-speech technology, your phone automatically detects what language your phone is using to determine what exactly you need help translating.

    According to Google, the new translator feature will be deployed to Android and iOS devices this month and will support 50 languages, although the Mountain View company says that more are on the way.

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  • Google creates the App Defense Alliance to guard against malware-laden Android apps

    Google creates the App Defense Alliance to guard against malware-laden Android apps

    It almost seems like we have been writing more stories about malicious Android apps than ever before. Many of these play video ads in the background, sign up for premium services without the phone owner’s knowledge, share personal information and more. And some of these apps have icons that disappear from the app drawer making them incredibly hard to uninstall. The majority of these apps are designed to generate revenue for the bad actor(s) behind them.

    Yes, most of these apps were sourced from the Google Play Store which might have surprised a number of Android users. After all, Google runs a safety check on apps before they are downloaded. This feature, Google Play Protect, is also supposed to warn users if it has discovered a harmful app and remove any malware-laden apps it finds on an Android device. But a number of infected apps do make it through.

    Google says that “fighting against bad actors in the ecosystem is a top priority.” To prove this, Google announced today that it teaming up with mobile security firms ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium to create the App Defense Alliance. Google says that it picked these firms because of their past successes in finding potentially harmful apps, their dedication to improving the Google ecosystem, and the recognition they have received from analysts.

    The main priority for the Alliance is to prevent bad apps from getting installed on users’ devices. So Google will integrate its Google Play Protect detection system with the scanning engines used by the other Alliance members. Google says that this will “generate new app risk intelligence as apps are being queued to publish. Partners will analyze that dataset and act as another, vital set of eyes prior to an app going live on the Play Store.” But the main question is whether these extra eyes will help to tighten things up in the Play Store. The partners look for Potentially Harmful Applications (PHAs) both inside and outside the Play Store. By starting the Alliance, members will share their information with Google in a more timely fashion helping the members detect malware earlier than before.

    Google says that by working as a team to share information with each other, the App Defense Alliance will help secure Android from attacks around the world. The company adds that it is the best way for it to stay one step ahead of the bad actors and keep malware out of the Google Play Store. The Alliance even has a mission statement that reads, “Our number one goal as partners is to ensure the safety of the Google Play Store, quickly finding potentially harmful applications and stopping them before they ever make it onto Google Play.”

    As we’ve pointed out before, one of the best ways to avoid loading malware on your Android device is to look at the comments section on an app’s Google Play Store listing. You’ll be surprised at how many times an app full of malware is outed by a poor review. For example, take this review for an app that contained adware: “I thought I’d try this app by downloading it and that was a nightmare, couldn’t find it in my apps nowhere and then the app just started running ads flashing them on and off, couldn’t make them stop until I restarted it, then had to go back to Play Store just to find it again and I’m deleting it.” Check out the comments section before installing an app from an unknown developer and you might save yourself a headache.

    As we mentioned, some of these malicious apps are designed to disappear from the app drawer after installation and sometimes a factory reset is the only option available to get rid of a particularly pesky piece of malware. But late last month, we told you about malware that re-installs itself even following a factory reset. Hopefully, as Google says, the creation of the App Defense Alliance will keep Android users one step ahead of the bad guys.

  • Google Messages latest update is all about fighting spam

    Google Messages latest update is all about fighting spam

    The Messages app is becoming harder to spam after the latest update, Google confirmed recently. After teasing a new ability that would allow Google Messages users to report group spam messages earlier this week, an update released today is adding this specific feature.

    A support document that contains instructions on how users can report spam in a group message is now live on the app’s support page. Keep in mind though that if you’re using Google Messages and don’t see the new option yet, you should wait a few more days since the update is rolled out in waves.

    When you report spam in a group message, the spammer is reported and the message is sent directly to your “Archived” folder, Google explains. To report someone, simply open the Messages app, then the conversation you want to report, tap More Group details, and then choose Tap Report spam.

    Don’t try to download anything from the Google Play Store since this seems to be a server-side update. You’ll just have to pray that the new feature will appear on your phone sooner rather than later.

  • Google Maps update will help you find historical landmarks in major cities

    Google Maps update will help you find historical landmarks in major cities

    We’re thinking that the Google Maps team is fueled by pots and pots of coffee. How else can you explain the number of new features that are added to the app? Developers must pull 24-hour shifts a few days a week and we envision a whiteboard filled with multiple ideas. The latest addition to Google Maps, allows users to quickly find major landmarks in big cities. Note the words “major” and “big.” In other words, you’re not going to see one of these large icons appearing on a map of a one-horse town to show you where the local Dairy Queen is.

    On the other hand, as you can see from the screenshots accompanying this article, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abby in London and the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower in Paris do feature the larger icon. It appears that Google is placing these easier to spot icons next to older landmarks that have a history behind them. Interestingly, the White House doesn’t merit one of the larger icons although New York’s Rockefeller Center does. Whether Google is currently in the process of adding new landmarks is unknown, but it would be interesting to know what the company’s criteria are. We have reached out to Google for more details, and if they respond we will update this story.

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  • Spotify brings back Google Home Mini freebie

    Spotify brings back Google Home Mini freebie

    Remember when the Google Home Mini was deemed the world’s best-selling smart speaker, despite Amazon dominating the vendor ranks both back then and in pretty much every single market report released over the last 12 months or so? The very reasonable price and robust list of features of the search giant’s diminutive Google Assistant device might not be the only reasons the Home Mini was able to achieve that feat, as the gadget’s shipment numbers were no doubt inflated by various promotions offering people the opportunity to pay nothing for the “bestseller.”

    The latest such deal is actually a revival of a similar offer from last year when select Spotify Premium subscribers were eligible for free Google Home Mini units just for using the world’s most popular music streaming service. This time, it’s even easier to join the giveaway, as both Family account holders and individual subscribers can qualify for a unique promotional code towards a gratis Home Mini smart speaker redeemable on the US Google Store.

    Once again, you’re looking at a US-only promotion, although if history is any indication, there’s a good chance availability will be expanded to other regions in the near future. The terms and conditions are relatively straightforward and not particularly hard to meet, requiring you be a new or existing Spotify Premium Individual or Premium Family subscriber registered directly through the platform (and not a third-party service like a cable or telecommunications provider), as well as pay for your unlimited, ad-free music streaming rights with a recurring method such as PayPal or a credit or debit card.

    Predictably enough, those who claimed a free Google Home Mini last time around are not eligible for an additional complimentary smart speaker, and in case you’re wondering, the offer is not valid on the new Nest Mini, even though the $49 list price has gone unchanged. Finally, while Spotify technically mentions November 15 as the end date of the actual deal and December 31 as the expiration date of the Google Store promo codes, you shouldn’t act shocked if supplies were to run out earlier. After all, Google can’t just give away millions of these voice-controlled bad boys for free.

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  • Chrome for iOS goes dark after the latest update

    Chrome for iOS goes dark after the latest update

    Although iOS 13 has been around for about a month now, Apple’s own adoption figures show 50% of eligible iPhones are running the new version of the operating system. It’s not a bad number of course, but those who haven’t updated yet are missing quite a lot.

    Besides the new features and improvements that the iOS 13, a lot of third-party apps are adding new options specification for this version of the platform. One of the most common new features that these third-party apps are adding is dark mode.

    Many developers have already implemented the dark mode into their iOS apps, but Google has somehow missed to opportunity to offer Chrome users this specific feature. Thankfully, the latest update fixes the issue, so if you update Google’s mobile browser to the latest version, you’ll also be getting dark mode.

    Also, the update adds the ability to add a new credit directly in Chrome from the settings page. Lastly, Bookmarks, History, Recent Tabs and Reading List are now presented as cards on iOS 13. Keep in mind that most of the new features won’t be available until you update to iOS 13.

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  • Google Maps updated with new ways to report driving incidents

    Google Maps updated with new ways to report driving incidents

    Google has just announced that a new update is making its way to the Maps app on mobile. The update brings new ways for Google Maps users to report driving incidents and will be available globally starting this week.

    The most important change included in the update is the addition of a new ability that allows Maps users to report crashes, speed traps, and traffic slowdowns directly from their iPhones. The same features proved to be extremely popular among Android users, which is why Google has decided to bring it to iOS as well.

    The next major improvement is the ability to report four new types of incidents: construction, lane closure, disabled vehicles, as well as objects on the road. The new option lets Maps users know whether or not they’ll encounter one of these obstructions on their ride.

    If you stumble upon such an obstruction, the easiest way to reports with the new version of Google Maps is to simply tap on the + sign and then on “Add a report.” The update revealed today by Google will be rolled out globally on Android and iOS starting this week.

  • Google Assistant bug is draining the battery on Android phones

    Google Assistant bug is draining the battery on Android phones

    If you’re a fan of the Google ecosystem, you might own more than one device with the Google Assistant on board. And surely there have been times when you used the hotword to open the Assistant on one device only to have it activate the digital helper on the second device as well. But there seems to be a bug that has affected Google Home and Pixel devices and some have complained about it on the Assistant Community page dating back to this past September.

    To reiterate, the problem is that when saying “Ok, Google,” or “Hey, Google” it not only awakens the Assistant on one device, it also does so for the second device. And with this bug, Google Assistant will remain in “listening mode” on the second device until the owner of the device intervenes. The original post was followed up with some responses by others with the same problem. The issue also was discussed on Reddit with more than one person shocked to find the battery on their Android phone down to as low as 1% with the Assistant still listening for instructions hours after the hotword was spoken to a Google Home speaker.

    “Wondering if anyone else had this experience where the Google app stays active if you say “Hey Google” and your request was answered by another Home device (i.e., you say “Hey Google,” phone and Home device both pick it up, but the request is handled by the Home device). Quite a few times, I’ve found that my phone battery is completely drained a few hours later, with the Google app being active the whole time, and I think it’s because Assistant on the phone was left hanging. I can’t be sure though, and I was wondering if this was something other people had noticed, and if there’s a solution.”-u/qdatk, Reddit

    The bug doesn’t seem to be a problem every time two Assistant-enabled devices are close enough for both to hear the hotword. But you don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you need the phone and the battery has been unknowingly depleted. So until Google comes up with a way to exterminate this bug, it is best to check your phone every time you activate Google Assistant on your Google Home/Nest device. You need to check especially if the phone is inside your pants pocket or sitting on a table where you might not notice that the Assistant is stuck in listening mode.

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