Google removes 3 popular apps from Play Store

Google has removed three popular apps used by kids from its Play Store periodically when the apps are caught violating its policies.

The International Digital Accountability Council (IDCA) had found that the three apps, identified as Princess Salon, Number Coloring, and Cats & Cosplay, were collecting data of users, who happen to be children in most instances, in violation of the Play Store policies, and that this data was potentially leaking to SDKs of third parties.

"The practices we observed in our research raised serious concerns about data practices within these apps," IDAC president Quentin Palfrey told TechCrunch.

The website also got a response from Google, which told it, “We can confirm that the apps referenced in the report were removed. Whenever we find an app that violates our policies, we take action.”

It is not clear what sort of data the three innocent-looking apps were collecting. But these were the apps used by kids as they claimed to gamify learning. A number of such apps continue to be available on the app stores managed by Google and Apple.

When it comes to the data of children, companies like Apple and Google have more stringent requirements from app developers. The data of children has to be handled more carefully and in many cases, it cannot be passed on to third parties. In fact, so sensitive are the rules governing the use of technology by children in many but not all countries that Google even offers services that are specific to kids, such as YouTube Kids.This is not the first time Google has removed apps from its play store. Earlier, the company removed a number of malicious apps from the Play Store. Check the list below and remove them if you have them on your phone. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com
Read More........→ Categories: ,
→

Google launches strong encryption for Android messages

Google said Thursday it will be rolling out end-to-end encryption for Android users, making it harder for anyone, including law enforcement, to read the content of messages.

“End-to-end encryption ensures that no one, including Google and third parties, can read the content of your messages as they travel between your phone and the phone of the person you’re messaging,” said Drew Rowny, head of Google product, in announcing the rollout.

Google’s move is part of an upgrade from SMS to the Rich Communication Services (RCS) standard with additional features for images and videos.

It will be available for people communicating using Android-powered devices.

The move brings additional privacy and security to Google’s messaging application, however, law enforcement agencies around the world complained that “strong encryption may enable criminals to hide their tracks”.

Digital rights activists have long supported strong encryption to allow users to avoid snooping by governments and cybercriminals. But some governments have warned the technology could hinder criminal investigations.

End-to-end encryption is already available on some services such as Facebook-owned WhatsApp, but the company has been facing resistance over its plan to bring full encryption to its Messenger app.

Last year, US Attorney General William Barr joined with British and Australian counterparts in urging Facebook to abandon its encryption, claiming the planned court hurt investigations into child exploitation.

Civil liberties groups countered that a lack of encryption or privileged access for law enforcement could hurt privacy and security for all internet users, creating holes that could be exploited by bad actors.Source: AFP, Tech Xplore Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com
Read More........→ Categories: ,,
→

Happy Birthday Google

To celebrate its 22nd birthday, Google created a special doodle

It's 22nd birthday of Google today (on Sunday). Though the search engine giant officially debuted on September 8, 1998, it has been celebrating its birthday on September 27. 

To celebrate its 22nd birthday, Google has created a special doodle. 

The doodle features the logo ‘G’ sitting in front of a laptop doing a video call. The birthday celebration video call is with the rest of the letters - OOGLE. There’s also a piece of cake and presents in the Google Doodle. The representation of the Doodle is quite appropriate for the current situation where most people have celebrated and still are through video calls. 

If anyone tap on the Doodle from the Google homepage, it will open to a Search results page for well, Google. People can also share the Google Doodle on Facebook, Twitter and via email. There’s also a copy button for the link so it’s easier to share it anywhere. As with every Doodle, this one too has a page with a short description about the celebration. 

22 years ago in the year 1998, Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University. “Google”, the word comes from the mathematical term “googol”.

“While walking in the woods of New Jersey, American mathematician Edward Kasner asked his young nephew Milton Sirotta to help him choose a name for a mind-boggling number: a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Milton’s reply? A googol! The term gained widespread visibility 20 years later with its inclusion in a 1940 book Kasner co-authored called “Mathematics and the Imagination,” Google explained in its Doodle page Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/
Read More........→ Categories: ,,
→

20 percent of Google employees don’t want to return to office


World’s best search engine Google gives the opportunity to its employees to work from home due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

At the beginning of the global epidemic, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, announced that 30 percent of employees would be back in the office by the end of the year. However, as the situation does not improve, he has instructed to work from home until the middle of next year.

A survey was conducted by Google regarding the opening of the office. The results of the survey were published on the ‘Life at Google’ page on Twitter. There, 20 percent of Google employees say they never want to return to the office. 53 percent of employees are interested to return to the office irregularly. And 10 percent of workers want to join the office. Besides, 15 percent of employees want to attend the office if there is an event.

In an interview with Time magazine, Sundar Pichai said employees can come to the office irregularly. However, the decision of the employees will be given prioritized in this regard.

Google says the office will be redesigned to protect employees from coronavirus. The cafeteria will be closed to avoid crowds. Employees must maintain a 6 feet distance while sitting. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com
Read More........→ Categories: ,
→

Google and GSK invest £540M to create bioelectronic medicines


An early prototype concept for a smart contact lens. This wearable tech would measure glucose levels in tears, using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturised sensor embedded between layers of soft contact lens material. When glucose levels fall below a certain threshold, tiny LED lights will activate themselves to function as a warning system for the wearer. Credit: Google
Google's Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) has announced a partnership with British pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), to form Galvani Bioelectronics – a new company focused on the research, development and commercialisation of bioelectronic medicines. Verily (owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet) has announced an agreement with GSK to form Galvani Bioelectronics to accelerate the research, development and commercialisation of bioelectronic medicines. GSK will hold a 55% interest in the new jointly owned company and Verily will hold 45%. Galvani Bioelectronics will be headquartered in the UK, with the parent companies contributing existing intellectual property rights and up to £540 million of investment over seven years, subject to successful completion of various discovery and development milestones. Bioelectronic medicine is a relatively new scientific field that aims to tackle a wide range of chronic diseases using miniaturised, implantable devices that can modify electrical signals that pass along nerves in the body, including irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses. GSK has been active in this field since 2012 and believes certain chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and asthma could potentially be treated using these devices. The agreement to establish Galvani Bioelectronics represents an important next step in GSK's bioelectronics research. It will combine GSK's world class drug discovery and development expertise, and deep understanding of disease biology, with Verily's world-leading technical expertise in the miniaturisation of low power electronics, device development, data analytics and software for clinical applications. The initial work will centre on establishing clinical proofs of principle in metabolic, inflammatory and endocrine disorders, including type 2 diabetes, where substantial evidence already exists in animal models; and developing the associated miniaturised, precision devices.
A chemical chip to control the delivery of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Credit: LiU/Ingemar Franzén
Moncef Slaoui, GSK's Chairman of Global Vaccines, who was instrumental in establishing GSK's investments in the field of bioelectronics, will chair the board of the new company: "Many of the processes of the human body are controlled by electrical signals firing between the nervous system and the body's organs, which become distorted in many chronic diseases," he said. "Bioelectronic medicine's vision is to employ the latest advances in biology and technology to interpret this electrical conversation and to correct the irregular patterns found in disease states, using miniaturised devices attached to individual nerves. If successful, this approach offers the potential for a new therapeutic modality alongside traditional medicines and vaccines."This agreement with Verily to establish Galvani Bioelectronics signals a crucial step forward in GSK's bioelectronics journey, bringing together health and tech to realise a shared vision of miniaturised, precision electrical therapies. Together, we can rapidly accelerate the pace of progress in this exciting field, to develop innovative medicines that truly speak the electrical language of the body." Brian Otis, Verily's Chief Technology Officer, said: "This is an ambitious collaboration, allowing GSK and Verily to combine forces and have a huge impact on an emerging field.Bioelectronic medicine is a new area of therapeutic exploration, and we know that success will require the confluence of deep disease biology expertise and new highly miniaturised technologies. "This partnership provides an opportunity to further Verily's mission by deploying our focused expertise in low power, miniaturised therapeutics and our data analytics engine to potentially address many disease areas with greater precision with the goal of improving outcomes." Since 2012, a dedicated team of scientists at GSK has been researching the potential of bioelectronic medicines. In that time, the company has established a leadership position in the field, creating a global network of around 50 research collaborations and investing $50 million in a dedicated bioelectronics venture capital fund. Through these collaborations and investments, GSK has seen encouraging proof of principles in animal models in a range of diseases. GSK believes the first bioelectronic medicines could be ready for approval within the next decade. Source: http://www.futuretimeline.net/
Read More........→ Categories: ,,,,
→
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)