Articles about Google

The OnePlus 5T may have just rolled out, but the Chinese smartphone maker has not forgotten its older handsets. Having rolled out a beta version of Android Oreo to the OnePlus 3 and 3T, now the OnePlus 5 is getting the same treatment.

Making good on the promise it made at the launch of the OnePlus 5T, the company has launch the first OxygenOS Oreo open beta for the OnePlus 5. It is available for anyone to download and install, and the full, stable release of Oreo is due early next year.

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YouTube is an amazing place to consume media. There is great family-friendly content from people like iJustine and Rosanna Pansino, for instance. Unfortunately, there is another side of Google's video site, where people such as Pewdiepie and Leafy post racist and sexist content. For parents, it can be quite difficult to know which videos are appropriate for children. Sometimes adult content can even show up in the YouTube Kids app.

To make matters worse, some content creators have been disguising adult-themed videos as being family-friendly -- a wolf in sheep's clothing, if you will. For instance, what may appear to be a video about Spider-Man and Elsa from Disney's Frozen, can quickly morph into a video about feces and hypodermic needles. I kid you not -- there are some truly bizarre videos designed to exploit children on YouTube nowadays. It is being referred to by some as "Elsagate," and this excellent video does a great job of explaining the growing phenomenon. Sadly, these weird videos generate a lot of revenue too, leading to copycats. Thankfully, Google has apparently had enough, as it now vows to crack down on adult content that masquerades as being family friendly.

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UC Browser was unceremoniously removed from Google Play last week after it was discovered that a setting within the app violated Google policies. Now the popular web browser is back with an updated version.

The company behind the app is pleased to return its flagship title to the Play store, but also voices its delight that during UC Browser's brief absence, the cut-down UC Browser Mini proved fantastically popular.

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For those concerned about their privacy, location services is just one more setting to disable on their phone. But Google has now revealed that it is not only able to, but actually does track the location of Android users even if location services are disabled.

More than this, Google records the addresses of nearby cell towers -- thereby giving a very good idea of location -- even when there is no SIM card in a phone and no apps are used. This data has been collected since the beginning of the year.

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It is imperative that students learn about computing in school -- the earlier the better. The problem? Sometimes teachers aren't very knowledgeable about computers. In other words, some of these educators simply aren't qualified to teach young people about computing. In order for these people to teach future generations about computing, they must first learn about it themselves.

Today, Google announces that it is donating £1 million worth of computer training to U.K. teachers. Don't misunderstand -- the search giant is not just throwing money at the situation. Instead, Google will be having some of its employees provide actual time and assistance to these educators -- how cool is that?

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Google recently announced that it was going to take action against apps that misuse its Accessibility Services API. There are a number of big-name apps that make use of this API, including the likes of LastPass and Tasker.

Users of the password management tool were concerned to hear that their favorite app could be affected. But the company has spoken out to say that it is working with Google, and there will be "no immediate impact" to its users.

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While the Internet of Things, or IoT, has been around for several years, voice control is a more recent development. It is convenient for performing all sorts of actions, such as switching lights off and on, changing the settings on a thermostat, and countless other things that you may never have thought of.

Of all the IoT devices on the market, the thermostat is one of the most popular and there are several competing brands on the market.

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YouTube is -- of course -- about video, but it is becoming more than that. Google has just announced that it is teaming up with Ticketmaster, giving people the opportunity to learn about concert dates and buy concert tickets while watching artists' videos.

For now, the feature is limited to the US, but there are plans to roll it out on a wider scale. With YouTube increasingly used as a marketing tool by musicians, the progression to using it as a ticket outlet is hardly surprising -- but it's not clear what sort of cut Google is planning to take, and whether this could ultimately push up tickets prices.

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As part of its Google for Jobs initiative, earlier this year Google introduced a new job search tool to help users better understand a prospective employer or how long their new commute might take.

Today, based on feedback that Google has received, the job search tool gets an update that makes it a lot more useful. Among the new features are a salary estimator and improved location filter.

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We all have apps installed on our phones that we simply don't use. It might be that they once served a purpose that they no longer fulfil, and we just haven't got around to uninstalling, or it might be that we've downloaded an app, tried it once, and then forgotten about it.

These unused apps are, essentially, just wasting space, and now Google is doing something about it. With Android 8.1 Oreo, when a device is running low on space, an automatic cleanup process will tidy after these unused apps.

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Google is launching a crackdown on apps that misuse Accessibility Services, threatening to remove them from the Play Store. The API was created specifically to help users with various disabilities, but developers have latched onto it as a way of increasing the functionality of their apps.

The likes of Tasker, LastPass and Universal Copy are among the titles that make use of the Accessibility Services API, and they have been warned to either explain why they are using the API, stop using the API, or unpublish their app.

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Most people rely on and trust Google's search results. It’s what the company is best known for, after all. However, anyone searching for a copy of Microsoft’s video editing software is in for a nasty surprise.

Windows Movie Maker was put out to pasture in January of this year, but its appeal is such that a fake version has arrived, and is conning people into parting with money thanks to an unlikely ally -- Google.

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Google is getting ready to expand its collection of Android apps once more, as it just introduced a new title on Google Play. Currently available as a preview, Files Go lets you manage and share files and free up space on your smartphone or tablet.

The app is split into two tabs, one that's called Storage, which helps you delete the app cache, remove files and get notifications for unused apps, and another, named Files, which is where you will find the file manager and the option to send and receive files.

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Search for a restaurant using Google, and you're already told the times of day at which a particular place is busiest. But Google is about to make this information even more useful.

The fact that a restaurant is busy at 3PM on a Thursday afternoon doesn't necessarily mean you'll have to wait ages for service -- there may be more staff working, for instance. A new update to Google Search -- and Maps is to follow -- means you'll be able to see estimated wait times as well.

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An APK teardown of version 8.4 of the Google Play Store app shows that there could be some exciting changes on the horizon for Android users.

Perhaps the most interesting revelation is that Google appears to be on the verge of introducing audiobooks to the store. This means that you may soon be able to ditch the likes of Audible and buy your audiobooks direct from Google -- and there could also be free audiobooks! The teardown also shows that there are new notification and app update options to come as well.

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