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Google Chrome launches default ad-blocker

February 16, 2018 Dianne Jacobs

Google has launched an ad-blocker for its Chrome web browser that is designed to prevent “annoying” and “intrusive” ads being shown to users. Google announced the move to curtail full-page and auto-playing video ads, among others, last year. The choice of which ads to block will be determined by the Coalition for Better Ads (CBA) – made up of companies including Google and Facebook. Sites will have 30 days to remove disruptive ads before blocking begins. A survey of 40,000 US and European web users found that the most intrusive…

People Can Now Hide Pestering ads on Google

January 29, 2018 Dianne Jacobs

Google will now let people mute advertisements that encourage them to buy products from websites they have previously visited. So-called reminder ads track which products people have looked at online and then promote them across the web. Google said reminder ads were “useful” but said it wanted to give people “more control” over what they see online. Individual reminder ads will be “mutable” on websites that use Google’s services to provide adverts. Muted promotions will be replaced with other adverts. There will not be a way to opt out of…

Google Maps will soon tell you when it’s time to get off your train or bus

December 11, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Google is about to launch a small but useful update to Google Maps that will give you live guidance and interactive real-time notifications during your journey. The idea here is to give you real-time updates while you are on your transit journey. These updates will appear in the Google Maps app and, maybe most importantly, on your Android lock screen. To get started, you search for your transit directions in Google Maps as usual. So far, so good. What’s new here is that you’ll soon be able to tap a…

Google launches a data-friendly search app for users in emerging markets

December 6, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Google is continuing its push to make its services accessible for people with lower-end mobile devices or slow internet connections after it introduced Google Go, a data-friendly search app. The app was first spotted in beta in August — when it was known as Search Lite — and now it has been released for select Android devices (here). At just 5MB the app won’t take up huge amounts of space on a device — that’s important because cheaper devices that are popular in emerging markets have limited capacity — while…

Google faces mass legal action in UK over data snooping

November 30, 2017November 30, 2017

Google is being taken to court, accused of collecting the personal data of millions of users, in the first mass legal action of its kind in the UK. It focuses on allegations that Google unlawfully harvested information from 5.4 million UK users by bypassing privacy settings on their iPhones. The group taking action – Google You Owe Us – is led by ex-Which director Richard Lloyd. He estimates the users could get as much as “several hundred pounds each”. The case centres on how Google used cookies – small pieces…

Google Can Tell if Someone is Peeping at Your Phone

November 29, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Your days of peeking at someone else’s text conversations on the train might be numbered. At the Neural Information Processing Systems conference in Long Beach, California, next week, Google researchers Hee Jung Ryu and Florian Schroff will present a project they’re calling an electronic screen protector, where a Google Pixel phone uses its front-facing camera and eye-detecting artificial intelligence to detect whether more than one person is looking at the screen. An unlisted, but public video by Ryu shows the software interrupting a Google messaging app to display a camera…

Microsoft displeased with Google over approach to security patches

October 19, 2017November 30, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Microsoft’s Windows security team have been unhappy with Google for the past year. While the pair are bitter rivals for a number of different reasons, Google disclosed a major Windows bug before Microsoft was ready to patch it last year. This irritated the company so much that Windows chief Terry Myerson authored a blog post criticizing Google for not disclosing security vulnerabilities responsibly. That resentment still remains today. Microsoft discovered a remote Chrome vulnerability last month and is now demonstrating what it feels is responsible disclosure. In a new blog…

Google set to simplify Android Video Calling

October 13, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Video calling is about as easy as it can possibly get these days. You can do it on computers, mobile devices, and even tablets. It’s popular and widespread enough that you even have options. There are plenty of options available for those looking to video chat with their friends or family. Now, Google is rolling out a new Duo integration for its own Pixel, Pixel 2, Android One, and Nexus phones to allow users to place a video call directly from the Android Phone, Contacts, and Messages apps. Later this…