Owners of Google’s Pixel smartphones have access to Google’s Recorder application for recording sounds, as well as transcribing audio recordings and doing some basic editing. Now, the app has a web version, allowing Pixel users to manage their library of audio recordings from any computer. Audio recordings captured with a […]
Google vows to stop tracking individual browsing for ads
The internet giant’s widely used Chrome browser this month will begin testing an alternative to the tracking practice that it believes could improve online privacy while still enabling advertisers to serve up relevant messages. Google yesterday pledged to steer clear of tracking individual online activity when it begins implementing a […]
Google’s new Chrome update makes swap between user profiles easier
American multinational technology company Google has made it easier to swap between user profiles in a new Chrome update that has rolled out today. According to The Verge, Google has rolled out a “revamped” profile experience. Now, if a user has multiple profiles set up, a “profile picker” will appear each time they restart […]
Australia closer to passing watershed Google, Facebook laws
Australia’s lawmakers today inched closer to passing landmark laws that would force Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay news outlets for content and could set a precedent for tighter regulation in other nations. The country is on course to become the first to introduce laws that challenge big […]
Google moves away from diet of ‘cookies’ to track users
Google is weaning itself off user-tracking “cookies” which allow the web giant to deliver personalised ads but which also have raised the hackles of privacy defenders. Last month, Google unveiled the results of tests showing an alternative to the longstanding tracking practice, claiming it could improve online privacy while still […]
Google fitness app to catch breath and heart rate
Google yesterday unveiled an upgraded fitness app that uses smartphone camera capabilities to measure respiration and heart rate. Google Fit already uses smartphone sensors to figure out how far people walk or how many calories they have burned, but new features rolling out to Google Pixel phones will add pulse […]
Google closing in-house Stadia video game studio
Google yesterday said it is closing its in-house Stadia video game studio, leaving the job of making titles for play in its cloud-hosted arena to outside developers. The internet giant set out to transform the video game world in late 2019 with the launch of Stadia, a service crafted to […]
Google Maps Street View gets split-screen UI on Android
Google has rolled out an update on Google Maps that makes the service’s Street View feature a tad bit easier to use. A new report by 9To5Google indicates that Google Maps’ Street View feature is getting a split-screen user interface on Android. The report states that the new UI launches automatically when […]
Google restores Element’s chat app on Play Store
Google has restored Element’s Android chat application on the Play Store. The app was briefly removed from the app store for allegedly hosting abusive content. The decision to take down Element’s chat app had created a bit of controversy. As Gizmodo points out, Element is a client for the federated chat […]
Google refreshes mobile search interface
Google has announced the imminent arrival of a revamped mobile search interface. Due in the coming days, the refreshed interface, unveiled via a handful of images, promises a simplified design, making search results clearer and faster for users to navigate. In the first images published by Google, the design appears […]
IIT grads, ex-Google execs ready to roll out ad-free search engine Neeva
“At scale, an ad-supported product serves the company that shows you ads, it does not serve you.” With this thought, Sridhar Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan, IIT alumni and former Google executives are ready to roll out Neeva, an ad-free, private search product, which, by the middle of this year, hopes to […]
Alphabet shutting down Loon, which used balloon alternative to cell towers
Google parent Alphabet Inc is shutting down its internet balloon business, Loon, which aimed to provide a less expensive alternative to cell towers, saying on Thursday that it was not commercially viable. Founded in 2011, Loon aimed to bring connectivity to areas of the world where building cell towers is […]
Google suspends second AI ethics researcher, says union
Google has suspended an artificial intelligence ethics researcher weeks after dismissing another member of the team, a recently formed union said. The Alphabet Workers Union, which was created by employees of Google’s parent firm, said in a statement this week it was “concerned by the suspension of the corporate access […]
Google and French publishers sign agreement over copyright
In a first in Europe, Alphabet’s Google and a group of French publishers said on Thursday they had agreed a general framework over copyrights under which the U.S. tech giant will pay publishers for content online. Google has only signed individual agreements with a few publications so far, including national […]
Google Maps’ Nature Elements Get More Detailed Visually, Enhanced Street View Coming Soon
Google’s navigation app Google Maps is getting a visual upgrade. The latest update for Google Maps focuses on improving the visual quality and details of the default layer, especially the nature in Google Maps. Google Maps has three types of map layers – Default, Satellite, and Terrain. Google said that […]