A month ago, F-Droid criticized Google’s anti-sideloading policy. Shortly after that, the Mountain View company said that sideloading isn’t going anywhere. Now, F-Droid says Google’s statement is false. In case you missed it, starting next year, Google requires Android developers to verify their identity, even if they do not distribute their apps via the Play…
Two days from today, October 22nd, was Google’s deadline to begin opening up its app store, stop forcing developers to use Google Play Billing, let them set their own prices, and more, following Epic’s repeated wins in Epic v. Google. But both Epic and Google have just successfully and mysteriously argued for one final week’s…
Google has introduced a new search feature that allows users to hide sponsored results, offering a cleaner and less cluttered browsing experience. The update aims to make navigating Google Search more intuitive by reducing the visual impact of advertisements, while still keeping them clearly labeled for transparency. According to the company, this change is designed…
A couple of days ago, I told you how you can regain access to your Google account using Recovery Contacts. Let’s discuss the other recovery option that Google introduced, sign in with phone number. Now, you may wonder, didn’t Google already let you sign in using a phone number? Technically, no, but you’re not completely…
Google has announced a new safety feature for securing user accounts. If you can’t sign in to your account, you can now ask friends and family to help you regain access to your account. There are multiple ways to recover access to a Google account such as resetting the password, getting a one-time code via…
Google is quietly phasing out another feature from Android Auto, its in-car interface for Android smartphones. This time, the company appears to be removing GameSnacks, a collection of simple HTML5 games originally designed to give drivers something to do while their vehicles were parked. The change first came to light after users noticed that GameSnacks…
Google has announced that it has expanded AI Mode in Search to more regions, and has added support for several new languages. It will roll out to more users next week. Oddly, the announcement does not mention the languages or the Countries. Leaving users to guess, eh? It’s not likely they will miss it, AI…
In August, Google had just two weeks to begin cracking open Android, and to stop forcing app developers to use its own payment systems, after Epic Games won its Google lawsuit for the second time. Now, Google has just over two weeks once again — because the US Supreme Court has decided not to save…
Google has appealed the U.S. Supreme Court to pause an injunction ordered by a lower court. It is related to the antitrust case against Epic Games. The case has dragged on since 2020, when Apple and Google had removed Fortnite from their stores, because of third-party payment systems that were implemented in the game. In…
“The Supreme Court is Google’s last hope to avoid an Epic reckoning in October,” I wrote last week. Google apparently agrees. Today, it’s finally elevated its Epic v. Google case, the one that might fracture its control over the entire Android app ecosystem, to the Supreme Court level. Google has now confirmed it will appeal…
